The 5 Best Remote Work Management Tools for Real Estate Professionals

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, all businesses have had to shift to remote work in some way, shape, or form. We all rely on a type of technology to keep our businesses going, but having to be so dependent on the digital world for our own internal team communications could be sending small business owners for a whirlwind of confusion.

How to Manage Remote Workers

According to Global Workplace Analytics, 20 to 25% of the workforce will work remotely in 2021. Remote management will not be a thing of the past anytime soon, so we recommend you jump on board, if you haven’t already, and embrace the new age of remote work management software.

All business owners should check in every once in a while and ask themselves “Are my employees actually engaged in their work?” This is something that division managers can easily see in the workplace, but when meetings are on Zoom and you do not physically see your employees, it could be hard to tell.

Frequent communication with the team members is necessary to keep the company and team vision, alignment, and execution on track. At Roos Advisors, we believe contribution is a natural outgrowth of engaged teams. Setting daily goals and acknowledging accomplishments at the end of the week also helps with team cohesion and consistent alignment. 

How do you encourage setting these goals? Ask your team these questions at the beginning and the end of the work week:

• What are/were my top three goals?
• What is the most impactful thing I can do/did to improve my personal performance?
• What will/did I accomplish for the greater good of the company?

Managing Remote Workers Toolkit

Keeping an open line of communication with your employees while you all are working remotely can be challenging, and some people adapt quicker than others. It’s important to keep your employees engaged and help them open up about the challenges they’re facing in this new style of work. Luckily, we decoded some secrets to managing remote workers. 

   1. Set clear expectations

Before shifting to remote work, a meeting should have been held with division teams to discuss the standards employees are expected to adhere to, despite working from home. Consistently revisit these expectations and be specific to avoid important tasks falling through the cracks.

   2. Document all communications

In the digital world, it is so easy to take note of conversations and document communications. This is especially important while working remotely as less conversations are done in-person and require time being taken to write an email or send a direct message requesting an update on a project or asking a question. It allows for employers and employees to go back into their notes and reference specific context. This is a sure way to hold individuals accountable to their word or for their own mistakes.

   3. Build a strong rapport with team members

Virtual meetings are often straight to the point and unconversational. An in-person workplace grants employers the opportunities to view how employees communicate, interact with each other and handle the workload. It is imperative for employers to converse with employees on things aside from work and put an effort into learning their hobbies and interests, so they can get to know one’s true personality. A strong rapport between employer and employee also increases the likelihood that employees will go to their employer with questions or concerns; rather than hold back their thoughts or opinions and let it affect their work.

   4. Set aside time for 1:1 meetings with employees

It is easy to cancel and postpone your one-on-one meetings with team members when working remotely and caught up in the day to day of running your business. However, the longer you postpone, the more time you are letting pass by that your employees could feel unheard, unimportant, and unproductive. Another way to ensure employees do not feel undervalued by employers when their calendar time is too tight is to send out employee satisfaction surveys to remind employees of accomplishments and encourage them to find quick solutions for their setbacks.

   5. Don’t micromanage

More often than not, employers do not even realize that they are micromanaging. Micromanagement puts extra stress on all parties involved by degrading the self esteem of employees and overwhelming the employers with unnecessary work. Do not assume your remote employees are not working their hardest because they are working from home. If that idea is unsettling, virtually sit down with your employees and establish some ground rules for daily updates on tasks and projects, so both parties develop a comfortable communication strategy and consistently remain productive throughout each day.

How to Manage a Remote Real Estate Team

In the real estate industry, managing remote teams and managing remote employees require both simple and unique remote management tools.

Anyone working in real estate knows that the hours can vary, so it is important to set a window when everyone on the team will be actively working throughout the day. An idea would be to set up one hour on the same day every week that no one can schedule meetings or open houses because that time is set aside for any team communications that need to be made. Policies also need to be reviewed regarding vacation time, personal days and lunch breaks. These are things that are easier to monitor while in the office; but when working remotely, requests can be lost in email or messaging apps.

Let’s not forget about the never-ending paperwork for real estate agents and brokers. Due to remote work, these papers need to be easily accessible and online. It is also important to note that not everyone has access to a printer or scan at any given time throughout the day. Platforms like HelloSign are a great tool for agents, brokers, buyers and sellers to easily access and sign legal documents.

Best Practices for Remote Management with Roos Advisors

Roos Advisors is committed to helping you scale your real estate team. Our certified professionals use experiential evaluation and learning to help teams work more effectively by developing the core fundamentals of trust, commitment, accountability, productive conflict resolution, and results-driven goal-setting.

We help business owners reclaim their sense of direction and quality of life by growing their dream business and providing practical, actionable solutions. Let’s kickstart your journey to personal and professional excellence. Contact us today to schedule a free 15-minute virtual consultation to see if we are the solution you have been looking for.