Almost any industry can accommodate remote work as long as the work (and workers) understand the guidelines for success. Real estate companies can work with real estate virtual assistants along with in-house employees to build successful, scalable workforces. Still, it's crucial to make sure every team member understands how to work well to support your business — no matter their location.
There are various tasks that real estate professionals can delegate to a remote assistant. When you hire a virtual assistant, you create more time for you and your employees to focus on their primary tasks. So, how can real estate businesses manage hybrid or remote teams for optimal efficiency? We've pulled together some tips for you today!
Why Should a Real Estate Business Transition to Remote Working?
There are many reasons why remote work structures can work to the advantage of your real estate business. Adding virtual team members is one of the best ways to scale your workforce for several reasons.
Cost Savings
In most cases, adding more in-house U.S.-based employees can quickly deplete your payroll budget. In addition, the costs required for brick-and-mortar office space, equipment, benefits, and more quickly add up to expensive new hires when hiring onsite team members.
Instead, onboarding real estate virtual assistants reduces payroll costs significantly. VAs have lower salaries, don't require office space at your location, and don't need companies to provide equipment, like laptops or computer screens. A remote assistant also doesn't need traditional employee benefits, like healthcare or paid time off.
Access to a Bigger Talents Pool
Being open to remote assistants gives real estate agents and brokers access to a larger pool of skilled team members. You're no longer limited by geography to fill a position with the best person you can find locally. Instead, remote workers can work for your company from almost any location — and most VAs are willing and able to work according to your time zone and office hours.
Save Time and Improve Efficiency
Remote workers take on low-level, routine tasks that keep real estate brokers or agents from focusing on more important business-building tasks. With skilled real estate VAs, your team has the capacity (and time) to close more deals and grow your business. Virtual assistants help improve efficiency while saving time for your in-office workforce.
Debunking the Misconceptions of Remote Work
Many real estate business owners may worry about adding VAs to their teams because remote work doesn't always have the best reputation. Here are a few myths you might have heard about virtual work scenarios (and what we know to be true instead)!
Myth #1: Remote Team Members are Less Productive
There is a notion that remote workers are less productive than onsite workers. Without in-person supervision, how can virtual contractors be productive?
We can tell you that when finding the right VAs, you'll experience some of the hardest-working team members on your workforce. Virtual assistants are highly-motivated professionals who complete tasks on time and deliver quality work. However, when you hire a virtual assistant, put tools and guidelines in place to help monitor productivity.
Myth #2: It's Challenging to Engage with Remote Team Members
Connecting with your VAs daily is easy with technology solutions like Slack or instant messaging tools and Zoom or other video conferencing tools. Put protocols in place to help virtual assistants feel like part of the team, including team meetings and one-on-one video check-ins.
Myth #3: VAs Don't Communicate or Collaborate Well
Many believe proper communication and collaboration are only possible with onsite work structures. However, communication between managers and remote workers can flow easily with the resources we mentioned above. You can also encourage collaboration with tools like Google Docs and Sheets. However, as with any team member, be intentional about collaboration and communication expectations with a remote team member.
Tips to Keep Remote Team Members Productive
How can real estate professionals ensure their remote teams stay productive? We have a few more tips that can help!
Embrace Structure
During onboarding for a new VA, establish boundaries, give proper guidelines, and set KPIs (key performance indicators) for the work situation. This way, your virtual assistant knows how to work within your company from the start.
Communicate Frequently
A day should not go by that you don't touch base with a VA. Schedule meetings, use a messaging app, and respond to emails. Use the right communication apps to keep in touch with frequent communication.
Use Technology
There are many tech tools that can supplement remote work. For example, use cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox to upload, store, and share files with team members. Project management tools like Teamwork and Clickup can also help in task assignments, tracking deadlines, and monitoring project progress.
Expect Some Bumps
Managing remote workers is not without some challenges. Be prepared for bumps along the way when training VAs to be integral members of your team. As such, it can also be helpful to expect some downsides.
To manage your expectations and refrain from setbacks, you can use loopholes. Asking for frequent feedback from real estate virtual assistants is one such loophole. You can also share tips and advice for virtual team members on handling remote work pressure.
Find and Manage Your Remote Team Member With VPM Solutions
VPM Solutions has thousands of trained virtual assistants from across the globe ready to be productive in your real estate business. In addition, we offer specialized training and certification free so that when you hire a virtual assistant, you find remote team members who are ideal for your business!
Get more insights into finding ideal VAs when downloading our free resource, "The Real Estate Virtual Assistant Hiring Kit."
