2020 has been a watershed year. There have been unexpected hurdles, times to check in on what really matters, to reassess our goals and look towards a hopeful future.
In the final issue of our magazine for 2020, we asked some of our industry leaders how they found the past year, and what they’re looking forward to in 2021.
2020 in one word?
Unprecedented. I’ve heard that word used every day this year, and it’s certainly accurate.
From the tragic bushfires at the start of the year, through to the pandemic and everything that came next, it’s a year without any real reference point for most of us.
While few industries have been unaffected, ours has had to wrestle with an extraordinary amount of change and uncertainty, which has created an enormous amount of work and stress for everyone.
Give us some highlights?
This was always going to be a big year for Kolmeo because it was the year we launched our new property management platform, but we could never have predicted how crazy it would get.
We’ve more than doubled the size of our company in 2020, and had to recruit most of our new people without being able to meet them in person or have them meet each other.
This has forced us to completely change the way we manage the recruitment process and onboard new people once they are successful.
Because we can’t visit our customers (we’re in Melbourne), we’ve had to focus on being able to migrate agencies across to Kolmeo and teach their staff how to use our platform using video conferencing tools and e-learning platforms.
This process has revealed some interesting things in terms of how we might be able to do this even better in the future by gamifying the learning experience for property managers.
What will you leave in 2020?
Can I say Uber Eats? I hope I never have to get food delivered instead of being able to go out to eat.
On a serious note, 2020 has completely blown apart so many assumptions I’ve previously held about what is and isn’t possible – both at work and personally.
One of the things I’d love to leave in 2020 is any doubt that something can’t be done.
What worked for you in 2020?
Being empathetic and flexible. I’m proud to lead a team who really care about each other and our customers.
I genuinely believe that’s been important in not just surviving 2020 but coming out the other side even stronger.
What’s your focus for 2021?
Gratitude. I think 2020 has done a remarkable job of highlighting just how much we all take for granted and I really don’t want to lose sight of that as things (hopefully) return to normal across 2021.
