PM gems
TOP TIPS FOR PREVENTING PM BURNOUT
A new standard in property management
BY NINA CLARKE
Anna Sutherland
• Making sure you have annual leave scheduled ; just book the trip . By having something booked in , it holds you accountable and you will make sure to take time away from the role . By simply talking or thinking about it , it doesn ' t come to fruition
• Having something you love to do that isn ' t work related . I enjoy being outside , walking my dogs and gardening . I find being outside in the fresh air without a phone helps me relax . I also enjoy pilates which is a solid hour of no phone calls . I love listening to music or reading a book which stops me thinking about work
• We also like to do things as a team , such as a nice lunch ; or a dinner and a show . I find if you ' ve had a pretty average week it can be a good way to end on a good note and not head into the weekend feeling flat , constantly thinking about what may have gone wrong
Janine Prinsloo
• I believe the model our company uses of closing the office at 4pm is a winning formula . Between 4pm and 6pm ( aside from the odd home open ) we as mums get to go home , get the washing on , start dinner , go for a walk on the beach , or do homework . It makes the terrible habit of working through lunch ( which we all do , let ' s face it ) appreciated
• I follow the mantra of " eat the frog " based on the book by Brian Tracy . The saying goes : if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog , then you ' ve done the toughest thing for the day . Eating that frog means tackling your most challenging task- and it ' s also the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life . Procrastination is the worst trait of property managers , from delivering bad news to processing an insurance claim , but those tasks don ' t go away and get bigger and bigger the longer you leave them , so tackle them head on
Jessica Davidson
• Scheduling regular holidays , working proactively rather than reactively , and understanding you are a conduit for each tenancy , not personally responsible , helps PMs from becoming too invested in each interaction
• Not all business is good business and if a client is sucking the life out of you , let them go . I would rather lose a management than lose a PM . They are more valuable to me as a department head and it is good for the team to know you have their back , no matter what
Did you know there is no regulation or qualifications required for property managers in New Zealand ?
Two years ago , Ray White New Zealand ' s head of property management Zac set out on a mission to investigate the problems within the industry . He pulled back the curtains to find out why almost 70 per cent of landlords in New Zealand choose to manage their own investment properties .
“ Ray White New Zealand is one of the biggest providers of property management services , collecting over $ 7 million in rent weekly across the country ,” he said .
“ Despite this huge portfolio we have , the vast majority of landlords in New Zealand self-manage , so both landlords and their tenants have no professional support to ensure things are being done correctly and obligations on both sides are being met .”
Ray White New Zealand decided to go ahead and ‘ regulate ’ themselves anyway .
“ I knew that something had to be done for the greater good of our industry in New Zealand , and to be frank , the quality of life for our tenants , landlords and property managers themselves ,” he said .
Zac created a three-pronged property management strategy , designed to lift-up the industry as a whole .
There were over 50 events in New Zealand in the month of May , to help update landlords on the changes that are happening right now . The teams re-introduced themselves and explained what we have done and why these changes are so important .