Let’s achieve excellence

Let’s achieve excellence together!

As landlords who have always self-managed, there are not many things that we haven’t seen or turned our hands to. We’re quite used to issuing eviction notices, are extremely familiar with the vagaries of compliance and experienced with selecting and managing good quality tenants. However, one of the promises that we make all the landlords that we act for, is that we will look after their property, as though it were our own. Like our lofty strapline “lettings without compromise,” this is a statement that we all (and by this, I mean the whole team) take very seriously. For us, one of the things this means is that when something “feels” like it could escalate or is out of the ordinary, then we speak with our landlord, explain our thoughts, and recommend that we consult a professional with direct expertise in the relevant area. We do this because it’s more important to have a good outcome for our landlords, than it is for us to charge a fee, for something that we are not 100% sure about.

We have seen so many bad outcomes and unnecessary court hearings, which incur time and money, that could have been easily avoided, if the correct professional had been consulted and procedure followed, in a timely manner. For us (and this filters down to the whole team) the mantra is, if you’re confident proceed, if not, then stop, consult, and take action! We wouldn’t want someone “cobbling something together,” on a matter that they were not 100% sure about or had “sensed” potential red flags with, on one of our properties and we know that our landlords would feel the same.

Just recently, we had a situation where we didn’t like what we’d seen during a drive by of a particular property and, this triggered an inspection. During a closer look, we found that the property was not being looked after and, there were people living there, that shouldn’t have been!

We immediately notified the landlord. Without going into too much detail, this case was not straight forward, and we had reason to believe that things could escalate quickly. We discussed our concerns with the landlord, and together decided to instruct an eviction specialist.

The eviction specialist concerned is one we use often, and things went very smoothly, and a great outcome was achieved for our landlord. This had potential to go badly but, we acted quickly, recognised that we are not lawyers and stopped, consulted, and took timely action. This ethos goes further, because we always strive to achieve a culture of excellence across the whole team.

We firmly believe in working without ego and that we all bring something different and unique to the workplace. In our view, we can all do most things, but when we truly understand, value, and appreciate each other’s skill sets and abilities and foster an environment where everyone is working in their excellence, then we have a happy, winning team and amazing things happen!

Here are a few ways to foster a culture of excellence:

• Communicate your vision. It’s not enough to simply state your vision and ethos. After all, what does “lettings without compromise” mean and what does it specifically mean to us and why is it important? For your vision to be meaningful, the whole team must understand its purpose and know their own roles and the part they play in it and the responsibilities they have and any specific actions they need to take in order to achieve it.

• Be clear on your company’s purpose

and meaning. Just because something might be common sense and very clear to you, it doesn’t naturally follow that it will be to others. Ensure that your team knows that what they are working on is meaningful and why. Ensure that everyone concerned is highly inspired by the common sense purpose, which in turn becomes the driving force behind everything that they do. When they do well, tell them – conversely, when mistakes happen, discuss them and treat them as learning outcomes.

• Focus on high performance and

developing a mastery of roles. Ensure that every team member is working in the area that they should be. Recruit the right person for the role, not just to fill the role.

With everyone working in their excellence you will have a winning team. Ensure that every team member is supported and encouraged to become a master in their role and area of expertise and that high performers are nurtured, noticed, and awarded and that those not performing to the best of their abilities are mentored and coached into a higher performance category.

• Practice resilience to changes and

challenges. Nurture and encourage the flexibility and resilience to welcome and deal with change. In a culture of excellence, where all team members are valued and understand the reason for change, the motivation to achieve the company’s goals should be greater than the urge to avoid discomfort. • Create highly collaborative teams. In a culture of excellence, where all team members appreciate and value each other’s unique skillsets and work together without ego, and where collaboration is nurtured and encouraged, from the top down, there will be no need or reason for self-protection and the team can work together, towards a common goal.

• Instill a pioneering mentality.

Organisations and companies that achieve a culture of excellence do not settle for average. They are focused on creating something very special and achieving unprecedented results. The resulting energy and drive create a positive tension and message that echoes throughout the whole company and teams are encouraged to explore, create, nurture and achieve common goals.

Ingredients

180ml whole milk 50g unsalted butter, melted 3 eggs 500g white bread mix 60g caster sugar

For the decoration

2 tbsp sprinkles, plus extra to decorate 150g chocolate eggs 50g aster sugar

Method

Put the milk, butter and two of the eggs into a jug and whisk to combine

Tip the bread mix into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, then make a well in the centre

Pour the milk mixture into the well and mix with a wooden spoon until a loose dough forms

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins, until smooth and elastic Put into a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for an hour, or until doubled in size

Cut the dough into three equal pieces Working with one piece at a time, shape each into a rope about 40cm long Lay the ropes together length-ways on a lined baking sheet and plait together to make one large loaf Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise again for 30 mins, or until puffed up Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6 Whisk the remaining egg with 1 tbsp water Brush all over the loaf and bake in the oven for 25-30 mins, until golden Meanwhile, put the sugar and 3 tbsp water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil

Cook for about 2 mins, until syrupy Brush the loaf with the sticky syrup, leave to cool slightly, then decorate with the chocolate eggs and extra sprinkles

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Hot cross peanut butter blondies

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

250g white chocolate, roughly chopped

200g light brown soft sugar

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 Grease and line a 28cm x 18cm x 5cm baking tray with greaseproof paper

1 tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp smooth peanut butter

200g gluten free plain flour

20g roasted and salted peanuts, finely chopped

You will also need a piping bag Melt the butter and 200g of the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water Remove from the heat and mix in the sugar until smooth

Add the eggs, vanilla and peanut butter, and mix again

Sift in the flour and whisk until smooth

Pour into the prepared baking tray and sprinkle the peanuts on top

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 2530 mins, until a thin crust has formed and the blondie is almost set in the middle

Leave to cool fully in the tin. Take care not to overcook or you will lose the gooey middle — the blondies will firm up more once cooled Cut the blondie into 24 squares

Microwave the remaining white chocolate in

15-second bursts, until melted and smooth

Fill the piping bag and pipe a white chocolate cross on top of each square Leave to set for an hour before serving