Businesses can Survive and Thrive Post-Lockdown and beyond
Helping You to Reset your Business has become our Mission
Inspired by the dedication, tenacity, determination, ability to adapt of the letting agents we have been working with pre-Lockdown and everyone we talked to and communicated to during Lockdown and post-lockdown, we have changed the way we work and have also changed and evolved.
In September 2020 we will be launching a set of programmes which will look at Business Continuity Planning (BCP). The inspiration comes from our Solution Focused Training initiative where training provides participants with an objective & an outcome.
The BCP will focus on adding value to your letting agency, making subtle changes and thinking beyond Coronavirus.
Our training sessions have been developed with detail in mind - so we can focus on the questions asked and provide you with the answers you need. Our new resources will also help you and your team to navigate complex changes.
The pandemic forced all letting agents, property managers and managing agents to stop and take stock of the huge challenges and need to adapt and change. The crisis has provided some industries with the opportunity to capitalise as a result. The World Economic Forum`s New Champions Community have been dealing with the impact of Covid-19, and at the same time shaping their future resilience and profitability.
The World Economic Forum have considered the following to assist with future change:-
1. Combine speed and stability
Organisational agility is the ability for a company to quickly change or adapt in response to the tumultuous and rapidly changing market. It encompasses the major dimensions: of speed and stability.
Letting agents & Estate agents had to adapt very quickly when the housing market reopened on the 12th May since “working” in peoples’ homes was not an obvious option. Enter “virtual” platforms to assist with valuations and viewings, which became central to an agency’s survival.
2. Turn digitisation into an advantage
A survey conducted in 2015 by Everis showed that 82% of agreed that their workforce and methods of working needed to change. The report reported that “The world of work is changing, fast and fundamentally. Against a backdrop of difficult-to-solve staffing and employment issues, companies are increasingly turning to technology to help them get work done. “
The pandemic led to an historic implementation and reliance on technology. As the UK went into Lockdown, letting agencies and estate agents had to quickly move their businesses from the office environment to the home. The remote working model for so many has continued to remain post-lockdown.
The World Economic Forum commented that “Digitisation is in part a cultural shift, where it is seen less as an acceptable solution to a problem, and more as a catylst to change the business model creatively for the better.”
3. Drive systemic change through cooperation
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a reminder of how interlinked organisations are today. The reliance of estate agents and letting agents on the expertise of IT specialists, virtual messaging services, property portals, who understand the importance of using technology in business.
What’s next?
It is difficult to know what will happen next, it is possible to draw on the lessons of the past few months and businesses need to work on responding to post-lockdown matters whilst building to thrive in a new reality that focuses on agility, adaptability and digitisation.
In September we will offer Solution Focused Training programmes the focus of which will be Business Continuity Planning. We will be looking at how letting agencies will develop and grow post-lockdown and beyond.
Susie Crolla - CEO