Don't let your real estate staff steal time on the internet
Don't let your real estate staff steal time on the internet
You need to establish a professional working environment and a set of clear expectations for everybody. You need to keep tabs on the rule breakers.
The Internet is the way of the world right now. So you have to have a computer in your office. When you have a staff working for you, they need to know not to be surfing, especially when youre out of the office working to better your flipping houses for profit business
If you go out to put bids on bank repo houses or go to a seized property auction, they could be on the web paying their bills, on Google, Youtube or Facebook. They could be reading todays news or all of the above.
I had a pulled back from trying to help some woman get her bag out of a turnstile in Baltimore. I had to go to the chiropractor. Anyone who has ever had a back injury will tell you, it is painful. I just wanted the chiropractor to do something to make the pain go away.
Im in the waiting room and hes got two girls there working for him. One of them is talking to the other about what shes reading on the Internet about the difference between men and women. There were three or four of us in the waiting room. Heres the chiropractor in the back treating somebody and his staff screwing around. I notice that they screw around every time. So theyre probably doing it all day long.
Here is what I do in my office in this situation. In the first few days on the job they dont catch it, but I go on in and set the computers up for 15 days of tracking history. So when theyre out browsing the web I can take a look at what theyre browsing.
The first thing I do is give them a warning shot, because on the first day I tell them my system using a PowerPoint slide presentation. In the presentation I make it clear that they cannot screw around on the Internet and I put it in writing. Then we talk about it. It is clear that they know not to go surfing online.
When I confront them, I let them know that Ive checked the computer. I made it clear that I dont want them on the Internet. Theyre reading the local paper on the online or theyre checking their bank account online. I see that they are on MySpace or Rachel Ray.
I just give them a warning shot. I print out where theyve been and I say, Are you familiar with your bank account. Then I say dont do it again.
Then theyre embarrassed and then probably do it again or theyre covert about it because they probably delete the history or something like that.
I have a little story about why I keep an eye on my employees.
I was supposed to speak up north in Canada recently. There is a national speaker who you have probably heard of, but I wont give you his name. He called into my office and said, I want you to speak for me in Toronto.
One of my staffers, Jake, handles that for me. So Jake calls him back. They had a nice conversation. The guy says, Call into my office and we will get you an agreement on where the hotel is and all that kind of stuff. Jake calls into the office and nothing happens. We never got any information on this trip!
We were really frustrated because wed love to speak and hes been around a lot of years. I have a Canadian private lender home study system. Its good for me to go up into Canada. We wanted to go but it didnt happen.
The day before we were supposed to leave, Jakes phone rings and it was a guy saying, I had a problem in my office. I wasnt getting your messages, he said. I want you guys to be in Toronto.
Well, we cant get there now. Its too late. And you know wed love to speak for you again, Jake responded.
Let me tell you what happened, he said. The new secretary was using my computer and my phones to run an escort service.
Wow! Running an escort service? I would be furious if someone was using my time and equipment to do something like that. It can happen and it can happen to you. You need to check your Internet records and your computers. My point is to be vigilant about this. You never know what might happen.
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