For anyone who is unfamiliar with this relatively new profession, a virtual assistant might sound like someone who handles schedules and performs administrative tasks. But you are certainly mistaken if you think that’s all there is to it!
A virtual assistant can help you with a variety of tasks! The right question here is “What a virtual assistant can’t do for you” because these professionals are capable of performing a wide range of tasks. This is actually why we prefer the term “Remote Team Member”: they are real professionals (so why call them “virtual?”) and they are not just assistants, but rather an actual team member, who happens to work remotely.
- Administrative Tasks
A remote team member can perform a variety of functions in your business, including telephone customer service, email administration, appointment and meeting management, agenda management, travel booking, and everything else that an administrative assistant does in person.
- Maintenance coordination
On of the property management specific tasks to hand over to a remote team member is maintenance coordination. Whether it’s troubleshooting issues over the phone with the tenants, or dispatching vendors, following up on the work done, keeping in constant contact with the owner and tenant, or entering vendor bills for payment – an RTM can do all these just as well as an office employee would.
- Leasing
While an RTM might not be allowed to negotiate rent rates, there is little else that they are not able to do as far as leasing is concerned. They can assist with tenant screening, preparing the lease agreements to be sent out for signature, make sure the leases are renewed on time, collect, review and maintain all forms as needed and ensure a quick and reliable process for handling the leases under the licensed real estate person’s guidance.
- Customer care
This is one of the first domains a large number of remote assistants were initially hired for. And it’s easy to understand why. The majority of customer service interactions are based on similar questions, the client’s concerns are almost always the same, and thus can be easily answered through a manual or a script. Ensure proper training and you have a rockstar on your team handling customer service.
- Bookkeeping
Have you considered hiring a remote bookkeeper to manage your company’s finances?
An RTM specializing in finance can assist you and better understand your business through market analysis, sales and price analysis, ABC curve of products and so on. This initiative will provide you with the tools you need to identify new opportunities and detect threats in order to advance on safe ground.
- Marketing Content Creation
One of the reasons why companies publish blog posts on a regular basis is because content is one of the drivers of Digital Marketing. It improves your website’s search engine optimization and increases traffic to the site. Having someone oversee this process is a wise decision for your digital strategy.
Content creation is a time-consuming process that entails searching for relevant topics, keywords, images, and finally correctly uploading the blog post. Hiring the right person for this service ensures high-quality content.
- Social Media Management
Increasing your brand’s presence on social networks is another effective tool in your marketing arsenal. Many of your potential customers will be able to interact with you there. However, most businesses appear distant and disconnected from their potential customers – a well-managed social media presence can change that.
Why employ the services of a marketing agency when a remote team member can do this job for you and tailor it to your specific needs?
- Market Research
Market research is an important component of any company’s growth strategy, otherwise how will you ever know what is the best way to grow? But it is indeed challenging for the entrepreneurs to devote hours of their time to analysis while also managing their own business.
Having a skilled professional who understands how to apply the research, compile the results, and process the data is therefore essential to your success.
As you can see, Remote team members can, in fact, do almost anything for your business and it’s only a matter of finding that dedicated person with the very specific skills you need.
Why might Property Managers require the services of a Remote Team Member?
There’s a growing number of entrepreneurs who are incorporating remote professionals to help manage their business. Here are some of the benefits of hiring RTMS, that might surprise you.
- Make the most out of your resources
Assume you have a mid-level or senior employee and must choose between two options:
- They take an active role in directing your company’s growth strategies.
- Use them to generate daily administrative reports, which are part of this department’s routine.
What would your employee pick? Without a doubt, the chances of them selecting the first option are extremely high! Only because it is more interesting and appears to be more important.
But that doesn’t mean they can ignore their administrative duties. If they don’t do that bureaucratic work, your business will fail.
So, how do we get out of this rut? There is only one solution: use remote team members. They can handle the majority of these responsibilities! The best part is that they can do it from anywhere.
What is the end result? A full-time senior employee who is able to focus on strategic matters that must be completed personally in your office.
- Lowering Costs
One of the primary reasons why entrepreneurs and property managers hire RTMs is the cost involved. But that doesn’t mean hiring cheap employees who will perform poorly! That is not at all the intention.
The remote professional deserves and should be well compensated because you will have the opportunity to have a qualified workforce as well as some additional benefits. The savings come from the fact that the RTM will not require company-paid transportation or parking, food is no longer an added expense, and depending on where in the world they are located, if they are outside the US, the salary can be a fraction of the cost of US-based employees.
- Saving time.
Another reason for hiring RTMs is to save time. And, as we all know, time is money, particularly in business.
Assume you own a small business and do not yet have a human resources department. The hiring process will consume a significant amount of your time! You’d have to post a job opening, screen through resumes, choose a resume and conduct an interview…
Using a Remote Team Member Hiring service like RTM Direct by BetterWho can make this process much easier. We will make sure to get the proper details from you before posting the job ad, and ensure that the candidates we recommend fit the profile you have in mind, your company culture, skill requirements etc.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Not to mention that we provide a truly global search for the right person. The remote team member who can help with your needs could be on the other side of the world!
You will hire specialists who can begin working on your projects right away, saving you time because they will not need to go through extensive training to perform this function. And because they can concentrate solely on the tasks you hired them to complete, they will finish the job faster than someone juggling multiple demands. It’s a win-win situation.
How can you hire a remote team member?
Having RTMs on your team is not just of great help but a requirement these days, if you want to stay competitive! They can increase your productivity, help you with bureaucratic work, save you time and money.
But, how to hire an RTM? Some concerns are very common:
- What is the screening process like?
- How do I know they will work?
- How can I validate your skills?
- How do I pay them?
The good news is that we can guide you through the entire process and we offer a 90 days guarantee with every placement.
When you hire a professional through BetterWho, you get a lot of benefits such as: making sure the person who is going to be working for you has the specific skills that you’re looking for, that they fit your company culture, we also provide basic training to improve their knowledge of the property management industry (and your specific PM software) and coach you on the necessary tools and systems to set them up for success. We will be there with you throughout the hiring and onboarding journey and provide advice and guidance along the way.
If you’re ready to start this amazing journey, don’t hesitate to reach out!
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