Lifeboat Lettings on Lock-Down

Lifeboat Lettings on Lock-Down

Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Richard Poynter, one of the three directors of the business, and find out how Lifeboat Lettings on Lock-down is different to everyday life in the office.

“Hi, I’m Charmaine Geering, Business Development Lead for Lifeboat Lettings. We are trying something a little different today for our landlords and tenants and I am going to be having a candid chat with Richard Poynter, one of the three Directors of Lifeboat Lettings and posing a few relevant questions about life and business under lock-down. Hi Richard”.

Richard Poynter: Hi Charmaine, how are you doing? Thanks for setting up this interview.

Charmaine Geering: I’m good thanks, and you’re welcome, it’s a bit of fun to keep us all communicating and it’s a great opportunity to reflect on the past few weeks. I think we will all agree that it has been a strange time to be running a business, particularly a lettings agency and we would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. With everyone in the company now working in separate locations, how have you coped with being physically separated from the rest of your team?

Richard Poynter: Well, as you know I used to work for a big multi-national company and was used to lots of face to face contact and working in a crowded office environment. I like that way of working; I like the regular contact and in particular the ability to sort out minor questions straight away across the office. It’s been hard adjusting – particularly the first week – and I guess everyone else out there is in the same boat. We now have to rely more on keeping up with email and using systems like Dropbox – which we already had in place – and Zoom or Skype to keep up with what is going on in the business.

Charmaine Geering: Yes, I must agree with you when you say you like to work face to face. I miss the office environment too. We’re fortunate to live in a time where such technology is available, and we can still communicate effectively. It sounds like you miss human contact, so I’ll ask where is the first place you’re going to go after lock-down?

Richard Poynter: I must say I do miss the local pub, The Five Bells (which was voted the best pub in Kent last year as you know). First of all, I will go out with my family for dinner or lunch and as well as that we can get the whole company up there for a reunion lunch. If we are allowed of course. My family are also half way through moving house, so I will be wanting to complete this as well!

Charmaine Geering: That sounds like a great idea. While we hope that we never have to be in this situation again anytime soon I want to ask your #1 lock-down tip or piece of advice for small businesses?

Richard Poynter: Focus on the hidden positives if at all possible. I know this is difficult and some businesses have literally had to shut and are struggling to survive, but there may also be positives: lower overheads, opportunities for online selling that haven’t been previously explored etc…  I recently wrote an article for our sister company The Property Lifeboat listing our seven top hidden positives for business.

Charmaine Geering: Yes PMA is especially key at the moment. It’s important to focus on the good – that way good things can continue to happen. So what have you learned about your business, team, yourself from working in lock-down so far?

Richard Poynter: Firstly, I am immensely proud of how the team has performed in these unprecedented times. I think we have all adapted well and played to our respective strengths and as a whole the company therefore has all the bases covered and has still been able to provide a top quality service to both tenants and landlords.

Charmaine Geering: Thank you. I can confirm that I am equally proud to be a part of the team, mainly because I feel we’ve really come together as a team, each strong in different areas and we all have the same goal. You mention the now famous word “unprecedented” that leads me to my next question nicely. Has the current pandemic caused you to create a contingency plan?

Richard Poynter: I don’t think we have created a contingency plan as such but I do think we are more aware of areas that require improvement and have started to implement some of these. There are other areas for improvement that we want to address once we come out of lock-down.

Charmaine Geering: How has Lifeboat Lettings been affected by the corona virus pandemic?

Richard Poynter: The most obvious effect on the company was the need for most of us to work remotely. We already had a relatively flexible approach to home or remote working and some of our staff are not even office based, but I don’t think in the beginning we were fully up to speed with and utilising the technology required. The second obvious impact – although relatively minor so far for us – has been an increase in rent arrears. Obviously the pandemic has severely impacted many businesses and the economy as a whole and we were conscious that many of our tenants could have been adversely effected which would have impacted their ability to pay their rent. We instigated an outreach program early on and made contact with all our tenants to check on their wellbeing and situations.

Charmaine Geering: That’s a nice touch and I wonder if there have been others in the industry that have done the same ? I know first-hand that checking in with tenants was well received and appreciated. Has everyone stayed healthy?

Richard Poynter: I believe we have all been touched in some way by the virus and the strain of lock-down but so far – touch wood – none of us has been severely ill. Many haven’t been so lucky.

Charmaine Geering: It’s been a very tough time for the world and I am sure that you’ll join me in sending our thoughts of compassion to anyone who has seen an ugly side of this situation. Tell us how the lock-down has affected the business/team in a positive way.

Richard Poynter: There have been quite a few surprising positives. I think the company is much more resilient than any of us could have imagined and the team has pulled together well and proven to be very adaptable. The biggest positive though has been the development of new technologies and approaches to working – for instance, the virtual viewings. We will keep utilising these new ways of working going forwards I’m sure.

Charmaine Geering: I am sure that you’re right! Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I have really enjoyed catching up with you and hearing how things are from your prospective and hopefully our readers find this both entertaining and informative. I too cannot wait to be back in the office working hard towards our end of year goals. Perhaps we should do this again sometime 😊

To read about what we do at Lifeboat Lettings and to meet the staff please feel free to review our website at your pleasure. Any feedback would be appreciated. If you are a landlord and would like to discuss your properties or get advice please feel free to contact us.

Until next time we all wish you a pleasant day from the team at Lifeboat Lettings on lock-down.