Our favourite tips for reorganising your workflows this winter

Article by Amy Thomas Marketing Coordinator 8 July 2024

Winter is upon us and while we love rugging up and the chilly mornings, winter can begin to feel slow. The start of the year excitement has worn off and there is a tendency to go through the motions within the workplace. Now there are lots of ways to avoid this mid-year slump and one of our favourites is looking at workflows and processes that are in desperate need of a new spruce, think of it as a pre-spring clean. Now, we know this sounds scary, but don’t worry we have your back. We’ve put together a list of the most important tips when looking at changing existing workflows to make a smooth process. 

Assess your current workflows 

Before making any drastic changes, it’s important to have a full grasp of all of the workflows that are currently in place. Our first tip is to sit down and assess your current workflows, this may seem tedious but having a full understanding of each process can help you identify any issues or bottlenecks that may not have been noticeable beforehand. While completing this task you may spot recurring problems that are slowing team members’ progress or producing less-than-ideal results. Often when looking at workflows, new and grand ideas may seem tempting, nevertheless there’s no  need to toss them out or replace them altogether. The most likely change is that the workflow needs a small adjustment and these problem areas go from barely functioning to thriving like never before.

Include your team 

We also highly recommend including your team when looking at changing current processes and workflows. We would start by reaching out and getting personal feedback on workflows and recommendations for improvements. Different team members’ perspectives can highlight areas that would otherwise get overlooked making for a more seamless process. Some questions that may be ideal to raise with the team can include— hat processes are currently the most time-consuming? How are you finding the current workflow? Have you noticed any areas of concern? Additionally, don’t be afraid to get the team’s feedback on why they  think problems are occurring, open communication is key. 

Streamline communication  

Our next point is all about streamlining the communication process. Strong performing teams come in all shapes and sizes but there is usually one thing they have in common, and that’s effective communication. We recommend opening the lines of communication early, checking in with your team and getting different perspectives on the current process and workflows. This allows your team to feel included and contribute positively to their workplace. Another tip for streamlining the communication process is creating a detailed timeline of your current projects and goals to share with the team. This list then works as a master sheet to ensure everyone understands not only their roles and responsibilities but also others’ roles and responsibilities and the correct line of communication. Be specific with task allocation and who is responsible for each item, when general tasks are left to be picked up without clear communication, they are more likely to fall through the cracks and not get completed at all.  

Utilise technology

Don’t be afraid to lean on automation and utilise the resources around you. Improving your office workflow is about maximising productivity without creating more work for your team. This is where technology can enter the picture. We highly recommend understanding the automation processes available to you. PropertyMe is a software full of features that help reduce the busy work of Property Management and create seamless and effective workflows. PropertyMe’s feature-rich app is all aimed to revolutionise how Property Managers work. One feature we would love to highlight is our Task, Templates and Checklist. This tool is full of endless opportunities when it comes to improving current workflows. Templates allow you to create a customised and consistent process for the entire team to follow, ensuring everyone is on the same page. The Task feature brings a new level of organisation with the availability to assign tasks based on status, priority and due date. You are also able to delegate by assigning different team members tasks to ensure no step gets left behind. 

Implement proper training

Our final tip to consider when implementing new workflows is providing ample training for you and your team. While these new workflows may be the secret to unlocking your most productive selves, they can be a big change. One way to ensure that this new move goes as smoothly as possible is to ensure that you and your team have the proper training. The resistance to change is often linked with fear that the processes themselves will be more complicated than before, not understanding the product or how to use it most effectively. Here at PropertyMe, we understand the importance of having strong training from the get-go. Not only do we have an in-depth onboarding process, our training doesn’t end at the beginning. The PropertyMe has an in-built Knowledge Base that works as a wealth of helpful information, from articles to allow you to troubleshoot without the need to submit support tickets, to step-by-step training videos. If you find yourself wanting Live Training, don’t fret, our phenomenal trainer Scott offers live training opportunities for all things PropertyMe as well. 

We hope these tips have been helpful and given you the motivation during this winter season to go back and update any old workflows. If you have any feedback or questions you’d like us to answer, contact us via our email [email protected]