Do you have THIS-WILL-ACTUALLY-FIX-EVERYTHING syndrome?

I get it in Bunnings when I see a Ryobi machine that I don’t have in my extensive collection of never used Ryobi machines. 

Some people get it in Officeworks in the personal organiser/ planner aisle, others in the App store when a new $4.99 shiny button promises to change their lives in some material way. 

THIS-WILL-ACTUALLY-FIX-EVERYTHING syndrome sets in when something seems overwhelming and you are susceptible to a quick fix. But it hardly ever works, and if ignored, often makes things worse.

I’ve noticed it happens in strata management with operating software. Beyond accounting, strata software these days does so much more; work orders, task management, document management, client portals, automated meeting papers, and electronic voting. 

Yet many that change software for whatever reason don’t seem to use all the functionality of the new provider. Finding time to load data into the software and learning new tricks is not easy when your day starts with somewhere between 80-to 200 emails sent to you overnight.

But here’s the thing - changing strata management software without using it to generate things like your meeting papers, minutes, and work order features changes nothing!

This is what we did for one of our Queensland clients in one day to make a difference;

• broke down the list of unused software functionality and committed to learning and using one new function per month – improvements happen incrementally 
• decided to focus on automating meeting papers and electronic voting for AGM’s as the lowest hanging fruit (some AGMs had not been held on time)
• updated the templates to get rid of all the unnecessary big words and useless information copied from the meeting papers of BigStrata firms,
• separated motion into two categories, those statutorily prescribed and those used sometimes
• loaded the templates onto the voting software and ran a test.

The return on investment? An estimated three hours per AGM, with brevity, compliance, and accuracy as gifts with purchase. 

At the rate of one AGM a week, not uncommon for managers of average sized buildings, that’s a saving of three hours per week or one night of overtime. More staggering still over the course of a year that’s a saving of 144 working hours or 3.8 weeks of the year. If you are a one-man operator, there’s your annual holidays, all for one days work. 

What would you give for one night a week back to have dinner with the kids, take a walk with a friend, or curl up in bed with a good book? 

Let me know if you would like our help to overcome THIS-WILL-ACTUALLY-FIX-EVERYTHING syndrome in your office.