Blog / Time Management
Lee Woodward, At One With Nature and Work
The OfficePOD presents a whole new opportunity to the real estate industry by allowing agents and administration staff to work more productively and uninterrupted from the bottom of their garden.
Lee Woodward from Real Estate Academy (REA) has been chatting with Stephen Tanner from UK company OfficePOD about the Academy taking the opportunity to be part of the distribution channel for the product in the Australian real estate industry. There are many options for using an OfficePOD in real estate operations, including homebased agents and administration staff, virtual agents, on-site development agents and those who just need some quiet space away from the home and office environments.
Flexibility enhances productivity
Mr Woodward said the OfficePOD allowed flexible workplace environments for administrators who wanted to work 9am until 3pm and be connected to the office or sales people to have the perfect working day.
“A perfect day for agents may start by 8.15am, getting their scheduled task list and doing their scheduled tasks for the day before 11.30am, something often referred to as 'alone time'. Alone time is where you’re having a productivity blast and do your review and prospecting calls,” Mr Woodward explained.
Sales people could then leave their pod at 11.30am for their first appointment, calling buyers and sellers on the road between appointments, and return to the office in the afternoon for meetings or catching up. “Having different sections of your day without travel creates a much more productive environment, where you are focused and working less hours,” he added.
Many people believe workspace contributes to the standard of work output, so if you work in a messy and disorganised environment, then your work will be similar. Based on this theory a clean and clear workspace will add to productivity.
“The term ‘flow’, has been proven to work for many people, like artists and doctors, who when they’re working late at night or early in the morning, with no one else around them, they get four or five hours of really productive work done – more than they could do in a whole week in an office environment,” Mr Woodward explained. “People can work for less time and have a better lifestyle with their friends and family - and the long days at the office could soon be over because you’re far more productive,” he said.
An OfficePOD would also be ideal for virtual agents, who show property and use the Internet, but work from home. This arrangement can sometimes be a challenging environment when family members enter the room and there is noise in the house. They can feel like they haven’t left the home and might find it difficult to concentrate on work. “Compare this to walking down a beautifully landscaped garden path to the OfficePOD and entering that space, going inside and starting work,” Mr Woodward suggested.
“This opens up a whole new working world - working from home is good, but sometimes the energy in the house and the noise can affect you, whereas going out into the pod gives you a clear office space,” he explained. OfficePODs come flat-packed and fitted with lighting, heating/cooling and ventilation and are then erected on site in a day and easily relocated if needed. “They are incredibly well engineered and have great thermal properties. The OfficePOD will also be a fantastic asset for real estate agents selling large land releases, instead of taking up the garage of one of the houses,” he added.
Staff retention
Think about an OfficePOD as a way of retaining staff members, Mr Woodward said. “If, for any reason, they need to work from home for a period of time or can’t go to full-time work in the city, the company can say we will provide you with the OfficePOD as part of your 12-month contract and you still work for us 3-4 hours a day. It is a great retention tool for women who are going on maternity leave – or men on paternity leave,” he said.
The OfficePOD can also be used for other industries, such as recording, lighting, artists or anywhere people just need a quiet environment to complete their work. JVC is testing the pods for sound booths and Mr Woodward is looking at using an OfficePOD as the new Hot Topics sound booth in the REA carpark!
OfficePOD also plans to create garden spaces in carparks by building outdoor work or serviced office environments, and also installing pods on top of high-rise office buildings for meeting rooms. “In the city, where you can’t get outside anywhere, you can go up to the top and have a rooftop meeting in an OfficePOD,” Mr Woodward explained
OfficePOD is currently is looking for Australian investors to be part of the construction process, or those who want to invest in this type of environment for their staff. REA is working with Mr Tanner to launch OfficePOD in Australia and this product will be part of the Academy’s mix of productivity tools.
For more information or to express an interest in an OfficePOD, contact Operations Director Stephen Tanner on +44 (0) 789 996 6685, or visit www.officepod.co.uk
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