Majority of real-estate brokerages across Canada are using a management software system that helps them complete daily tasks.
If you don’t have one yet, you are probably in the market for one. And oftentimes these same brokerages have felt that the software systems are either lacking in features, or are not targeted for the Canadian real-estate market.
Technology is becoming a large part of the company, from helping their business grow to being a part of their brand for both customers and employees. Older software can create issues that prevent the company from creating great customer service. Therefore the system that you choose to use should meet the expectation that it will make your employees’ lives easier, and generate more sales. With technology continuously advancing, and everyone looking to do more in less time, it is important to carefully choose a management system that will keep up with the trends, as well as meet your office’s needs. However, finding a great system is not easy with the “noise” of all the old/partial systems on the market. When you find a system which will improve efficiency and organization the next hurdle you need to overcome is learning how to use it often referred to in other industries as Change Management. This is where most software systems fail! Tech companies forget that Implementation/On-boarding/Data Transfer (Change Management) is the most critical part of a successful system change. To change systems entirely, you must learn to use it yourself and train your staff, which can take a good chunk of time to learn if you don’t have a proper Change Management Plan.
At this point of the crossroads, you must calculate and decide if the time spent learning the new system will be equal or less than the time your office will save annually when completing tasks.
Would you change your management system if it only took 6 hours to learn? For a superior product that saves you time and money why wouldn’t you but make sure the Change Management Plan is solid!
There are also other reasons why you may need to change systems. What are they?
1. When There Is Something New
The industry is changing and brokerages are finding that they need more features. Sometimes older companies, or companies that are based in a different country, either do not have the time or have difficulty implementing the necessary features. A newer software system on the market might focus on the overlooked needs of the industry, and include them in their system.
2. When Something Needs To Be Fixed
A system or product that was once working fine just isn’t working anymore. Sometimes the software system isn’t keeping up to date with the industry needs, or has many bugs that aren’t being dealt with in a timely manner, which can make a task go from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. These brokerages find that they are spending too much time waiting, and are no longer efficient.
3. When A Company Wants To Lead The Competition
Brokerages that want to be leading in the market often need a system they can fully rely on, that is easy to learn/use, their realtors love using, and offers innovative features to put them ahead of the competition. In this case, change needs to be proactive, instead of reactive. Therefore 6 hours to learn a new system in order to be ahead of their competitors may be worth the time.
4. When Business Is Falling Behind
Technology is becoming a large part of the company, from helping their business grow to being a part of their brand for both customers and employees. Older software can create issues that prevent the company from creating great customer service. Therefore the system that you choose to use should meet the expectation that it will make your employees’ lives easier, and generate more sales.
5. Employee Retention/Turnover
Having a system that is reliable is very important to a real-estate agent, especially when it comes to closing sales. A system that is not user-friendly or does not help in the process of purchasing/selling a home can be the reason that the agent will leave the brokerage.
Datz Solutions is the cutting edge of technology for Real Estate brokerages, and not because we have the best technology, but because we have the best Change Management systems for our customers.
We are the only solution on the market that can covert your office to a new system in about 6 hours!