In water damage restoration, we are used to working fast and we are good at thinking on our feet. We work in a world of emergencies and a single phone call could change the entire course of our day. We may be accustomed to dropping everything for a client facing a flood in their home or business but like many industries, we are still adjusting to advances in technology that have changed everything about the way we do business.
Thanks to technology, we now have the power to provide feedback in an instant and a quick response is no longer fast enough for many of our clients. Instead, the expectations have shifted. Companies like yours are learning to provide an instant response, to work in real-time, as way to stay relevant in changing industry.
Why You Should Operate in Real-Time
Take a moment to think about how you operate while you are on-site, working on a restoration job. Do you keep insurance agents informed in the moment or do call them once or twice week to let them know how you are progressing? Perhaps you use paper documentation, rarely speaking with your client until the restoration job is complete.
In comparison, a real-time culture is one that embraces instant communication with both clients and employees. Instead of using paper documentation to keep track of progress, a real-time culture is one that leaves paper behind and embraces the technology available through use of text messages, emails and software specifically designed for their industry.
Changing the way you do business isn’t easy. You may even feel resistant to this change. Why change to a real-time culture if your current business model is already working? There are three main reasons every company in the water damage restoration business has to learn to work in real-time, to provide instantaneous feedback to everyone involved in the restoration job.
- Meet Expectations: Thanks to constant changes in technology, consumers already expect you to embrace a model of instantaneous communication. If your business isn’t willing to adapt to this expectation, you cannot stay relevant in our changing industry.
- Fast Decision Making: The scope of a job can change in a moment’s notice, from the needed supplies to the hours of labor invested. Working in real-time allows your company to make fast decisions, even when they require approval from an insurance agent or client.
- Company Growth: A growing company must be able to adapt quickly to meet the needs of their clients, but they also need to grow from within. A real-time culture is one that provides employees with instantaneous feedback, whether praise for success or constructive criticism for failures. Additionally, working in real-time allows companies to quickly adapt to changes in the industry, embracing new technology or industry trends.
Making the Switch to Real-Time
If you aren’t operating in real-time, you are already falling behind. In every industry, leaders are emerging who are adapting to changing technology. Now is the time to begin making the switch, using instantaneous communication to keep your employees, clients and colleagues informed along each step of the way.
- Follow the Leader: As the leader of your company, you cannot expect your staff to adopt emerging technology and a real-time culture if you are not prepared to lead by example. Always be the first to start using new software or implementing new habits.
- Offer Adequate Training: For many who have been in the industry for a long time, a switch to using technology on the job site is going to be a learning process. Make sure you expectations of your staff are realistic and that you are providing plenty of training both in a classroom setting and on the job site as they learn to transition to working in real-time.
- Evaluate Monthly: A big change like this is not going to happen without bumps in the road. Make sure you are evaluating your company’s progress on a month or bi-monthly basis, addressing any difficulties right away with additional training.
- Don’t Wait: It is easy to put off big steps towards company growth with promises like, ‘next year,’ but now is the time to begin working in real-time. Be an industry leader, not a reluctant follower, be the first to adopt real-time culture in your region.
Getting the Help You Need
Making a switch to working in real-time and adopting new technology in a niche industry like water damage restoration can be challenging. Where can you turn for support, training and how do you know which software is best suited to your need? Getting the help you need to make the switch to real-time should come first, before you begin making any internal changes.
At More Floods, we provide our network members with the operational resources and marketing materials they need to remain relevant and competitive in our constantly changing industry. Find the training you need to begin your company’s transition to real-time along with support from your industry peers at each step of the transition. To learn more about joining our network, click here or call 1-866-667-3356.