Undercover Boss

Contributed By: Real Strategix on

We have all seen the show “Undercover Boss”. There have been two instances over the past 2 years that I have placed myself in the relief management/temp world as an “undercover boss”.
What is it really like to be a relief manager?

“Easy” you’d think.
You just come in, do your job, leave at the end of the contract and get paid well.
You are greatly mistaken.

When I first put the feelers out about starting Real Strategix Relief Management Program it happened by sheer accident.
As you quite possibly know I am a Trainer. I have over 15 years’ experience in all aspects of Property Management, trust accounting and consulting.

I kept receiving calls from associates in the industry asking if I knew a Relief Manager. So I thought there is no way I can actually make my new business venture work unless I “Live it myself.”
Relief Management is different than Real Estate temping (which we also do) as relief managers are generally placed “alone” with no one to turn to. Many managers go overseas; some on cruise ships and you are given a half day handover if you are lucky.

I knew that due to my own professional experience that “I got this”. Admittedly, it was hard for me to take my consultant hat off and put my “Relief Manager” hat on. I knew I had to step up and be a Relief Manager if I wanted others to do so for my business.

I thought I was extremely over qualified for the job at hand. It was hard for me to sit in an office alone and just twiddle my thumbs. It was a permanent complex with no office hours so I just sat there, waiting….

The first particular office did not know the extent of my background and had just heard through the grapevine that I might be interested. They knew that I was a former property manager who was a new manager consultant and they trusted me with their business.
“I got this”.
Then the twiddling of the thumbs stopped with one phone call.
“Hi! I am Tash and the owner said that I could break my lease if I needed to because my husband was in the army and I may have to relocate.”
“Ok Tash that is fine. But you understand there is a break lease fee and you have to pay rent until the new tenant moves in and …”
And then “Tash” lost her banana peel…. She was livid, screaming at me that I should know; the notes should be there that the owner agreed when they moved in….bla bla bla…
There were no notes. I went through the software; files, emails and had to tell Tash to do same (she could not find anything in writing either). As far as legislation and her lease agreement showed, Tash was responsible for those payments.

Over the case of the 3 weeks I met many more Tash’s and it was then that I really understood the difficulty of being a Relief Manager.
Like Tash initially told me; when her head spun on her shoulders and smoke came out her ears, that when the onsite manager returned “yes Tash was right” it was a verbal agreement.
The owner somehow forgot to mention that to me…funny that.

As a Relief Manager, all they have to work with are the facts and what is written in front of them.
I am trained in 8 different trust accounting software and can tell you every one of them has a “notes” section and if you are not using it, it is what we call “Tash times”.
It is now the time to start.

Relief Managers are increasing their prices due to this very fact. They come into an unknown situation more like a private investigator. However, if resorts and complex owners are not diligent with their note keeping they are basically getting paid to be yelled at by Tash.

When Real Strategix receives a relief management enquiry, the first thing we tend to ask after the basic questions is if you have a “relief management bible” or a go to book.
If you have never had a property sell under your management or had to do an insurance claim or apply to QCAT for abandonment or have a guest destroy a room – I guarantee it will happen when a Relief Manager is there.

They need to know what you want them to do in this instance (yes a lot of it is legislation and they will know that) but “how much are incidentals, who is building insurance and with, the tractor that takes the bins out has broken down – who will fix it?

Start your bible NOW!
I also guarantee that you will NOT be 100% happy with your relief; they will do something different that you as a manager would not do and you will not be pleased.
But remember THEY ARE NOT YOU; they haven’t run the resort for 4 years. They are there to help make your life a little bit easier so you can enjoy your holiday!
ONCE AGAIN – MAKE SURE YOUR RELIEF MANAGER HAS PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE!

Undercover boss, over and out……

Lauren Kropp
Director
Real Strategix

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