We have been in business for almost six years and only in the past year have we truly honored and embraced dedicated days for administrative work. It always seemed like a great idea to set aside scheduled time for the behind-the-scenes work but we were quick to scrap those days the second a project booked or a more urgent task arose. While your current schedule or team structure might not allow for a full day for admin tasks, but we highly recommend that you schedule a few hours a week for admin and that you stick to it like you would any other appointment.
HOW IT WORKS
Melinda and I each have a dedicated day for admin – she takes Tuesdays and I take Wednesdays. Stephanie handles all our scheduling, so she keeps these days in mind as she schedules projects and the related previews. If an upcoming project falls on a Tuesday, I will preview the property and take the lead on the stage, including the inventory design, packing and installation. Conversely, Melinda will manage any projects on Wednesdays. Projects that fall on the remaining weekdays are distributed evenly amongst the team. Due to the nature of Stephanie’s role, she does not take a full day for admin as she is in constant communication with our clients throughout the day. However, to ensure that she is not overwhelmed or working in the evenings, she dedicates a few hours in the morning to tackle client communications with Melinda or I pack. This system works beautifully for our team but we reassess periodically.
WHAT DO WE WORK ON
Our team works best when we assign roles and responsibilities as opposed to each having a hand in everything. We all have different skillsets and trust each other to manage their respective areas of the business. While some of our admin days include physical tasks, like shopping for inventory, assembling furniture or unpacking at the warehouse, we try to stay focused on the back office activities that keep us thriving. Here is a glimpse of the activities that we focus on during our dedicated admin time.
WHY WE WILL NEVER GIVE THEM UP
Skipping one admin day isn’t going to kill us, but continuously abandoning these tasks not only creates unnecessary stress, but it can hurt us financially. I review our financials regularly to make sure that we are booking enough projects and spending our money appropriately to meet our financial obligations. Melinda stays on top of social media so that we can promote our projects and support our agent partners to create repeat business. Stephanie follows up on proposals so that we’re landing projects and stays on top of the schedule so that we’re destaging in compliance with close dates. We ultimately hold each other accountable and collectively these tasks keep us running like a well-oiled machine. Staging is a physical job and sometimes it’s nice to park in a coffee shop to knock out our admin work. If you’re not currently scheduling admin time, we highly recommend that you incorporate it into your routine.
