When it comes to the property management industry, being busy is a good thing. Being so busy that you can’t stay on top of things, however, can end up hurting your business. After all, how can you keep customers happy if you’re consistently dropping the ball on things, or your service level has started to wane? When we reach the point where we can no longer juggle all the balls we have in the air, a logical next step is to hire more people. Of course, increasing staff means greater expenditure. Sometimes it makes more sense, instead, to shift the burden over to technology, which brings us to the age old staff vs. software debate. Which makes more sense? Let’s take a look.
Cost
Being successful in any business involves cutting costs and saving money. That’s why cost is one of the major factors that differentiate the impact of hiring additional staff or investing in property management software. The cost of a software solution may seem like a lot up front, but when you consider all of the costs associated with hiring a new employee (i.e. salary, training, benefits, perks, etc.); suddenly the price tag of software doesn’t look nearly as intimidating.
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Functionality
One of the most important things to consider when determining whether you should bring on more staff or choose a property management software solution is the functionality you’ll get with each option. The property management field has many functions and complex layers. If you hire an employee to handle your accounting needs, chances are that same employee won’t have the training, skills or bandwidth to take on the functions of another department as well. Quality property management software, on the other hand, has the capability to multitask a variety of operational functions, from accounting to processing mailings to running reports and more.
Manual vs. Automated
Take a moment to think about all of the manual tasks your staff has to worry about, like stuffing envelopes, calculating fees, scheduling and running reports. All of this manual labor is incredibly time consuming. Hiring additional staff will help a little, but how much? It makes more sense to shift these manual, redundant tasks over to software that can take this burden off your team and let them focus on more important tasks. Not only will you save money by not having to pay more people, but automating these functions with software can also improve your existing staff’s productivity and efficiency levels. It’s a win-win.
Related Post: 4 Effective Ways to Improve Productivity in Property Management
Risk
Errors are a problem for any business, and property management is no exception. Costly mistakes can result in unhappy clients and potential loss of business, ultimately affecting your organization’s bottom line. Relying on staff to handle all of the necessary business functions comes with the inherent risk of human error. Transitioning many of these tasks over to software, on the other hand, can reduce this risk by improving accuracy.
Obviously there are certain situations in which increasing staff is necessary. For instance, if the need you’re facing involves having more people to show properties and meet with clients, then bringing in additional staff makes the most sense. However, if you’re just looking for ways to streamline your operations, and improve productivity and efficiency, or you simply find that you’ve got too much on your plate to be able to stay on top of everything, property management software is likely the most cost-effective and logical option.{{cta(‘dd3cddaa-5b1c-4720-a06c-fc26e6fba0bc’,’justifyright’)}}
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