I consider myself relatively relaxed when it comes to my team starting the process of working from home, but it does make me nervous....and I can imagine a lot of you are feeling the same !
What if "heaven forbid" they watch day time TV ??
What if they only work for 3 hours per day ?
How do I know that they are working 40 hours per week ?
Now is the time to change your thinking ! Firstly, are you paying your staff to work 40 hours or are you paying them to get a job done ? My mindset is always "I am paying for a job to be done" .... some competent people can do that job in 30 hours and others take 40. Having this mindset allows you to relax over how many physical hours they are working at home. In addition, it is also important to know your numbers. Understand how much the portfolio makes, and what % of that you spend in wages. This helps to have confidence that the job is getting done and the portfolio is still profitable.
OMG ! they had the cheek to watch Dr Phil when they should be working ! Truth is, they will probably not work 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday. They will be working 7 days per week but less hours each day. They will be sitting on their laptop in the evenings to check their emails with the TV in the background. The job will be getting done, just differently. Guess what, property managers can't hide from the work load either. So if they do have a lazy day one day, the next day they will make up for it with extra hours.
And finally, don't micromanage ! Check in with the staff daily via zoom or FaceTime. Every few days do a few spot checks that emails are getting responded to and jobs are getting done but that is it. If the job isn't getting done you will quickly hear about it and there is nothing to worry about till then.
My biggest concern is when this is all over, staff will want to negotiate work from home days....or maybe they will be absolutely sick of being home and will want to stay in the office more, only time will tell.
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