Blog / Winning Business
Diane Grant, Changing the Guard
Twins. One baby is enough to change a couple’s life dramatically, but two takes precision planning. Factor in that the couple are also business, as well as life, partners and you have a challenge.
The couple with this challenge ahead is Danny and Diane Grant, also known as Team Grant at Ray White Lower North Shore. When they discovered their impending bundle of joy would be two bundles, the Grants knew they had to find someone to replace Diane completely.
They decided Kate Elliott, with her experience in the high intensity shipping industry, was the woman for the job. “We’re not sure on the timings of things so we’re keeping it open-ended. You could say that we’re winging it in a way. We've had to look at everything very realistically for the business as a whole and what is going to benefit Danny,” Mrs Grant explained, saying she would still be keeping up with the business financials and accounts from her home office, but not involved in the dayto- day running or sales side.
Work/Life Balance
The Grants have been working together for more than 10 years so their home and work life has been intertwined for a while. “Besides being a huge change in our lives, it’s also a change in mindset, being able to allow somebody to come into the position I’ve been in for so long,” she said.
Knowing she was leaving within a few months, Mrs Grant started training Ms Elliott on the job between April and June, leaving satisfied her replacement was capable of keeping everything ticking over in July. By the end of June, Mrs Grant was in the office only a few hours a day.
The biggest factors covered in the handover were following established systems, offering Mr Grant support and keeping the same level of quality to ensure the transition went unnoticed by those outside the business. “Kate’s actually in control. It allows me to do the small, little bits and pieces that need to be done for the business, but not necessarily for the sale,” she said.
Live Training
Ms Elliott started just before Easter, a time when the business was a bit slower, allowing thorough training. “It meant I could sit with Kate and go through everything we do within the team from the absolute beginning,” Mrs Grant said, adding the role of client service manager was much more than a PA as she would have to be a general manager and first point of call for all contact with Mr Grant. “It becomes an integrated part of the business, so we wanted to make sure Kate had a full understanding of the business and what Danny expects to support him in doing his job well.”
With almost three months, Mrs Grant had the time she needed to cover all aspects of the role and see Ms Elliott in control before she left to prepare herself for her own new role. They started at the beginning as if for a new real estate agent, covering prospecting, appraisals, updating and using a database, client contact, putting properties on the market and property marketing.
“It was a very organic way of training somebody,” Mrs Grant said, and added she thought it took 4-6 weeks to train someone in a new role properly, but was grateful for the extra time.
Prepare for Hiccups
But no matter how well Ms Elliott was prepared, there was always going to be the odd issue. The day before Ms Elliott’s first auction, Mrs Grant went through all the possible scenarios. “We had an auction where everything I had mentioned to her, or things that don’t necessarily happen all the time, did happen. The next auction wasn’t like that, so talking through different scenarios and actually being here allowed Kate to get a true understanding and not be shell-shocked when they came up,” Mrs Grant explained.
Changing the guard at Team Grant gave the opportunity to look at the systems in place and the processes behind them. Passing those processes to a third party meant Mrs Grant spent a long time explaining the reasons for each step.
“I think it’s really important when you change over that the new person has an understanding of the reason. You take so much for granted in what you know, that when someone new to the industry comes in they don't have that experience to understand the intricacies of why something is important,” she said.
Preparation is Key
Mrs Grant prepared checklists for each process, incorporating training points and adding further clarification when Ms Elliott asked for more information. “I was talking with her [before I left] and she said, ‘I know what I need to do and I got to the checklist and I’ve already done those 15 tasks,’ so it’s already become ingrained. It took the feeling of overwhelm out of the position.”
She also set up a marketing folder containing samples of Team Grant brochures, newspaper ads and magazines to ensure Ms Elliott knows the quality, style and look of the marketing.
This handover has been a learning curve for the self-admitted control freak in Mrs Grant. “It’s been like a download of information from my head. Danny and I worked together for so long that we sometimes ran on ESP. Over time Danny and Kate will set up new systems themselves and by the time I come back, I’m going to need to be trained!” she laughed.
“I know I’m leaving Danny in good hands, so it’s a major sense of relief for me because I know Kate knows what I know,” Mrs Grant said, with her last piece of advice being to spend time up front with the new starter to make the transition as smooth as possible for all team members.
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