Benefits of Working Remotely for Property Professionals

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To be able to work wherever you like, whenever you want, sounds like a dream come true.

For many, this dream is not far from reality. According to The Australian, research from Tesyte revealed that in 2017, 84 percent of Australian organisations had systems in place that allowed employees to work remotely.

The Australian real estate industry is certainly not excluded from this phenomenon, especially with the disruption supporting the shift towards innovative, cloud based real estate software that makes working anywhere viable for property professionals.

But what exactly are the benefits of flexible working arrangements for those in the property sector? And why are more and more businesses opening up to this concept?

Business growth

Remote work has obvious benefits for employees, but it turns out that employers also gain a lot from establishing a flexible work place.

In a recent survey conducted by International Workplace Group (IWG), the response to flexible workplaces was overwhelmingly positive. The survey looked at 18,000 professionals across 96 countries, with 89 percent saying that flexible working helps their business grow and 80 percent saying that having employees working remotely enabled them to recruit and retain top talent.   According to Mark Dixon, CEO and founder of IWG, the results were far greater than previous years: “We have been running this survey for 10 years, but the strength of responses this year, with positive answers in the 70, 80 and even 90 percent ranges, surprised even those of us at IWG who have worked in the industry for many years.”

Family time

For those raising a family of their own- remote work arrangements gave them enough time to accommodate family commitments without having to sacrifice work responsibilities.

Michael Cimino, Head of Property Management at Inner Real Estate, stresses the importance of having the chance to be mobile once he and his wife welcomed a daughter to the family. “ (My daughter) is important to me so I want to make sure I spend time with her as much as possible while still being able to do work”. He further added that the cloud-based property management software he uses is a huge factor in his ability to work remotely. “Being able to have everything on my computer (wherever I am) is a huge benefit to me.”

Free to roam

But it’s not just working mum and dads who can benefit from working remotely. For many property professionals- with kids or without- remote work offers them more freedom to fulfil their duties while not being constrained by the confines of their desk.

Melodi Brown, Accounts Manager for Ristic Real Estate, shares that because she is able to work remotely using a property management app she was able to finish her tasks while on a recent holiday to Fiji, “Before I had to organise my holidays around work, and now I can do the owner run by the pool with a cocktail. It was great!”

Increased productivity

Working in a set office can mean time wasted with lengthy commutes, not to mention the distractions of a busy workplace with regular meetings and social conversations. Jessica Triganza, a Sydney-based senior recruiter, acknowledges the increase in productivity for those working remotely. “We focus on what needs to be done; we’re very streamlined in what we do because we don’t waste time with team meetings and catch-ups,” she says. “It’s very much a results-based role.”

More and more property professionals are able to work in this way and organisations are enjoying the benefits. For some, it means engaging in the workplace while their children are young; for others it may present opportunities to travel, live out of the city or simply organise their life to suit themselves.

Whatever the reason, we’re now more connected than ever, so flexible working situations are possible, and in many ways more favourable. “It seems that one day soon,flexible working could simply be known as ‘working’,” says IWG’s Mark Dixon. “We are reaching the tipping point.”