Summer is almost here again. And for most of the country, that means a season of severe summer weather that can include tornadoes, floods, fires, hurricanes and more. For property restoration business owners and managers who haven’t yet prepared their game plan, it’s time to get started! And here are a few tips for doing just that.
5 ways to prepare your property restoration business for severe summer weather
1. Get organized.
Operational improvement is a necessity for any business. But achieving it can be a tough pill to swallow, especially if you’re busy just keeping up with day-to-day business. If you’re still on the Manila folder system, though, you may be holding yourself back!
It’s time to integrate basic improvements like job management software to make sure you and your team can compete in the digital era. Digitizing documents, photos and signatures doesn’t just make them easier to share and speed up the payment process. It also helps you keep everything in the right place, so you always know how and where to find it.
> Action Item: Give yourself and your team the tools to better do their jobs with DASH, a cloud-based job management tool designed to help your property restoration business more efficiently. You can learn more here.
2. Make sure you’re staying informed.
Even with the best preparation, life can still throw you curve balls! Unexpected events (like a global pandemic) can have unexpected effects that ripple throughout the industry (like an intense demand for lumber in 2020 and 2021).
With that in mind, it’s important to stay as informed as you can about what’s going, both globally and locally. And that means not only getting info, but the right kind of info. Taking a few minutes today to stay apprised of that info could help you better lead your business tomorrow—particularly in the context of severe summer weather that’s growing more unpredictable every year.
> Action Item: Take the time to seek out a source of info that’s exclusive to the property restoration business, such as the Restoration Forum, or the blog and podcast channels available from Next Gear.
3. Keep your team educated and prepared.
Make sure your team has access to tools and resources to do their jobs as well as possible, and you’ll reduce the odds of being taken disastrously off guard by a particularly severe summer weather season.
That means offering a supportive work culture, as well as supporting employees in their pursuit of information and career advancement. Helping them pursue IICRC continuing education credits, for instance, not only helps support worker satisfaction, but makes sure your business is better prepared for any unexpected events that may come your way.
> Action Item: The webinars offered by Next Gear Solutions are a great place to start with fundamental employee training. With just an hour of their time, busy workers can stay updated and earn credits, while getting the info and training they need to help your business succeed.
4. Get your contacts in order.
Make sure you’re not scrambling to locate someone at the worst possible moment. Taking the time to revisit and update your list of contacts can help make sure that every client, customer, vendor, insurer and other partner you may need during a busy time is within easy reach.
Beyond averting catastrophe during a crisis, implementing a system to manage your contacts can also help empower your team, and help them focus. To that end, our experts recommend using a tool that can not only organize your contacts, but also prioritize them by value. Utilizing a specialized CRM gives you access to even more tools, like instant reminders to let you know when to follow up.
> Action Item: Give your business the power to build better relationships and drive sales with LuxorCRM, the only customer relationship management (CRM) software that’s built and designed with proven sales methodologies that work in the restoration industry. (It also fully integrates with DASH.)
5. Seize the potential of constant communication.
Even a mild weather event can lead to extended periods of outages, downed power lines or other disruptions. And every moment of downtime compromises your ability to communicate with and coordinate your team, and to fulfill your obligations to customers.
Technology exists to help make sure your team is synced even when the local network goes down. Often, the same technology can be used to track arrivals, as well as instantly and securely share photos, documents, digital signatures and other essential items. And remember, failing to take advantage of these tools means leaving yourself vulnerable to better-connected, tech-savvier competitors.
> Action Item: Before the summer season truly gets into gear, give your business the advantage of instant, constant and secure communications with ProAssist from Next Gear Solutions. You can learn more here.
We can help you prepare your property restoration business for severe summer weather
If you’d like to learn more about DASH, LuxorCRM, ProAssist or other tools designed specifically to help the property restoration industry, we’re standing by to help! Contact us today to schedule your free consultation with a Next Gear expert.
Read more:
Documentation Tools, the Secret Ingredient to Your Operational Success
Why Your Restoration Business Needs a Team Development Plan
Solution Stories: DASH Delivers, Anytime, Anywhere
