Now that the industry is transitioning into a hybrid work environment in an effort to boost resilience and flexibility, real estate team leaders are challenged with re-calibrating their back-end operations.
Promoting tech adoption within real estate teams has long been an industry conversation. For many, it was necessary to encourage team members to use their tech tools even when the entire team was in the office, working together at the same hours
With the hybrid model, where there are dispersed teams and agents may be working at different times to meet their personal needs, brokers should adjust their approach to help their agents with tech adoption.
The Increased Importance of Tech Adoption in a Hybrid Work Environment
Strong tech capacity was essential during the old paradigm of work, helping to alleviate the workload of on-site real estate agents and streamline operations for the brokerage.
As we transition into a hybrid work environment, the proper adoption of best-in-class technology tools is even more important than it was before. Besides helping to keep the brokerage running smoothly, tech tools are now in charge of keeping the team connected.
Digital tools are now needed to foster communication and collaboration between team members — whether they are together in person, or working apart. To enable a hybrid team to work together smoothly, your agents should be able to leverage robust online tech tools that have all of the information they need to do their best work from anywhere, regardless of location.
Hybrid teams need to have mobile access to the same technologies, data, and project management tools that they would have if they were physically present in the office.
Your agents have always been on-the-go, meeting with clients and visiting properties for meetings. As a broker, it’s likely that these conversations about mobile accessibility and remote collaboration are not necessarily new for you. However, it’s important to ensure that your team’s work structure is evolving alongside the culture of contemporary business.
While technology and mobility have always been key points of your business, they are even more important as we move forward into 2022 and beyond. It’s critical that your agents have the tools, and are using them, to build success in the future.
How To Encourage Tech Adoption within Hybrid Real Estate Teams
As a real estate team leader, you know that providing the technology is only half of the battle. The second challenge is pushing for strong tech adoption within your team. After all, your agents need to be using the tools to make your investment worth it and generate the expected results.
Here are four things that brokers can do to encourage their agents to leverage their available tech tools within a hybrid work setting.
#1. Offer Remote Training
With team members in the office and working remotely, your agents need to have access to off-site, digital training opportunities. When building your roll-out plan, make sure that you are offering training sessions both in-person and online.
One way to do this would be to host a video conference at the office, where your on-site agents can attend in person and the remote agents can log in digitally from their locations. Lead the session with a digital presentation that you can project in person and screen-share online.
#2. Bundle Your Tech Tools
When all of your technologies are bundled into one package and fully synced across a single network, it can be easier for hybrid teams to stay current with the latest movement across projects.
When you are selecting your technologies, look for all-in-one packages that automatically update with new data across the platform. This can save your team time since they won’t need to manually input new data, which can encourage them to actually use the tech tool.
#3. Check-In With Individual Agents
After training has ended, always follow up with your agents to see how — and if — they are using the tech tool. Focus on speaking to each agent individually, asking for their review of the tool and if they have any questions or concerns.
If after speaking with your agents you realize that many have questions about the technology, it might be a good idea to schedule another training session to focus on the specific issue or use cases they are dealing with.
#4. Communicate Goals and Expectations
One way to encourage adoption within your team is to clearly communicate your goals and expectations for the technology.
This will allow your team to see the bigger vision that the tool can offer your business, which may help them to move past any internal barriers or initial friction they may have with the tool. As a hybrid team, make sure that you position the tool as a helpful, connecting, and agent-benefitting addition to your team’s workflow.
For more commercial real estate advice and tips, explore the RealNex Blog.
