4 minute read

Systems and tech

If they do, then I can completely relate, because they had the same effect on me. However, so did the prospect of managing lots of members of staff, across different locations and different market sectors and, I must admit, for the sake of complete transparency, to having “baggage” when it came to this issue!

Let me explain… The Key Group of Companies was born as a marketing company, back in 1948 and will be 75 years old next year! Today we call that company “KPA Marketing” but, back then, it was called “Key Publicity.” Tech looked very different back in those days (I remember trying to code in DOS and resembled a baby giraffe taking its very first steps) and the company had 48 members of staff, when I joined in 1995 and, honestly, managing them was a full-time job. I came into the business, when our first child was born, because we needed flexibility as a family and because the business had grown and needed another pair of hands at the tiller.

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It was a classic business of its time, very “people heavy” and I spent the whole working day, quite literally, managing people – if I had any “hands on work” to do, then this needed to be done after hours and many a weekend was spent with a young child (and often the family dog in tow) at the office. So, when we were faced with a decision about growing the property business and I had “systems and tech” on the one hand and “chuck more people at it” on the other, even though tech is not my “area of expertise” I knew we had to give the idea a proper hearing. Luckily for me our eldest son, who came into the business like a rocket and remains so to this day (it was always going to happen really, as he was a regular visitor to the office even before he could walk), knew a lot about “systems and tech!” We decided to look at the roles and the tasks within the business and to break them down into their constituent parts, to see whether technology could play a part. We broke these roles into 3 distinct areas:

1. Those where someone physically needed to be somewhere (at a property, at a viewing etc.) and decided that these were “boots on the ground” tasks and necessitated the physical presence of a team member.

2. Those that could be done at a desk, from a computer – and we decided that these could be carried out by a VA team member.

3. And, last but not least, those tasks that were the same every time – and we decided that these could be “systems and tech tasks.”

We were already, successfully, working with a group of international VAs (the term VA always sounds minimizing, because they are, most definitely, not “virtual” and make up some of the most valuable and trusted members of our team). So, we chose a system that could integrate with them, as well as us and, one which incorporated workflow software, to enable us to have a sequence of tasks, in a specified path, completed by different team members.

I could spend large amounts of time detailing which system and what pieces of tech we use but, the truth is that our business will be very different from yours and there are lots of pieces of tech and many systems out there on the market. We wanted one which had the capacity to integrate workflow software, as stated above, (but it may be that you don’t need this in your business) also, we knew that we needed a platform which could expand and grow, as we did – and one which would work just as well in the short to medium term, as it would in the long term. 1. Start with the end in mind. Sounds cheesy maybe, but it’s true. There is nothing worse than wasting time and money on a system that will not grow with you. 2. Stratify the tasks within your business and look at which ones can be done from a distance, which ones can be automated, and which ones need a team member (or yourself) physically present, somewhere, in order to complete them. 3. Break down these tasks and create checklists, videos and “how to guides” on how to complete them. 4. If you decide to go down the VA route, then interview thoroughly. They may be team members at a distance, but they are still team members, and the same rules and values should apply. 5. Choose technology based on your business needs – all tech should be driven by your needs and processes, rather than what someone else suggests you need for your business. 6. Engage all users from the get-go. This may sound obvious, but technology requires the buy in, from the people who will be using it. 7. Don’t put style over substance. The system needs to do what you need it to first and foremost.

We now run 6 different businesses, with 14 team members and a fully systemized technology solution. When you think back to my earlier experience of 48 members of staff, no time to breathe (let alone grow the business) and an “inward cringe” about repeating this situation, then I’d say that systems and tech have been an incredible addition to our business. It could be that it would be great for yours – it’s worth considering!

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