Property management software problems could be down to human error. What’s the answer?

Have you heard of the P.I.C.N.I.C acronym? It’s nothing to do with the chocolate bar or being two sandwiches short of one. Let me illustrate with a story. You’re sitting in an office and someone in the team is having issues with their computer. They’re a little frustrated that the inanimate object in front of them is not doing what they want it to. They’re pressing buttons, closing the machine down, restarting it and then pressing the same buttons. They can’t figure out what is wrong with the thing. They finally decide to ask someone else in the team and lo and behold, it turns out the problem wasn’t in the computer, it was the person in the chair. A classic case of P.I.C.N.I.C – Person In Chair Not In Computer. We’ve all been there. And the acronym is intended as a bit of harmless fun. Many things can go wrong with technology – in anyone’s hands. However, when used properly, technology can shave hours off of mundane, everyday property management tasks, increasing productivity and saving the business time and money. But how do you reduce human error in your office? I’ve pulled together a few ways you can do exactly that.

In house champions

Naturally, as with any team dynamic, there will be people in the team who will do better in specific areas of the system than others. Ask everyone in the team if they would mind being the ‘go-to’ person for their area of expertise. Hopefully you can compile a list and whenever anyone has a problem, they can go to that person (or people) for help. This helps the spread of knowledge throughout the team and also helps to future proof the business as, inevitably, people will leave and take their knowledge with them.

Refresher training

We can all be guilty of doing the same over and over again and never looking at the tasks we do with new eyes. This can result in potentially missing out on better or more efficient ways to do what we do. Organising regular refresher training for your property management team – whether that’s monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual is your call. But however often you decide to organise refresher training, it will be a worthwhile investment.

But don’t just take my word for it, Learndash offer up 8 reasons for doing refresher training. Here’s three of our favourites:

1. It builds long term memory;
2. It reduces mistakes and improves productivity;
3. It keeps co-workers on the same page and makes learning part of the culture.

Webinars

At the beginning of the first lockdown in March last year (where has the time gone!), we offered our clients a series of webinars which were very popular and we received great feedback.

The advantage of webinars is that they can be delivered at any time throughout the working day directly to someone’s desk. There’s no travelling to and from a venue, so there’s less time away from the ‘office’. And as it’s all online, it’s a quick and efficient way to give and receive training.

Webinars also provide a good opportunity to ask questions without the pressure or embarrassment of having to speak in front of a group as the chat function offers a means of communication. Webinars can be tailored to your business needs and delivered to those who need the training, or to individuals who want to expand their knowledge.

Have a workplace where questions are encouraged

Many of us can feel embarrassed to ask questions. Whether it’s risking looking stupid, not wishing to interrupt colleagues who are in the middle of something or an innate drive to want to figure out the problem on our own, not asking questions can lead to time wasted and inefficiency. Not asking questions can also be perceived as disinterest or being a ‘know it all’ so it’s actually better to ask for help or to try find out something you don’t know. After all, ‘there’s no such thing as a silly question’. So foster a culture where asking questions, no matter how silly they may seem, and get solving problems quicker and easier.

If any of this resonates with you, and you would like to improve productivity through learning and training, please check out our training schedule for a series of monthly free webinars throughout 2021. You can also view our webinars from lockdown 1.0 2020, here.

Or if you’d like to discuss your specific property management software needs including bespoke sessions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Karen-Ann McSwiggan is Training and Implementation Manager at CPL Software. She is available to answer any of your training needs and to work with your business to ensure you get the most from your software.