Rob Buffington, started out as a small business owner in the United States. He recognized that running a small business in the US is getting more and more complicated every day. It’s not enough to be honest and be good at your trade. There are countless hoops that business owners need to jump through, most of which we’re not even told about until we’ve already been penalized for missing them. Gordian Financial was founded to help businesses take control of their finances and achieve peace of mind.
Episode Highlights Here:
Rob
To many people, they just know they’re drowning and they think they can throw somebody in and they’ll magically get better. You need to have steps in place for, here’s what they’re going to do. Here’s how they’re going to get the information. Here’s how I’m going to train them. Here’s how I’m going to communicate. And that’s part of what we do through Gordian consulting, Gordian staffing, etc.
Pierce
Tell us, you know, what’s the number one secret to hiring VA is to solve problems.
Rob
Well, not not to nitpick, we actually call our people remote team members, because VA kind of has that call centre connotation. And that’s absolutely not what we do. We like them to feel like they’re part of the team, they come to training events, they work for the company, they’re a part of the company. I’ll be at my Guadalajara and Mexico City office in a few days, actually. In terms of the most effective practices, I think the biggest thing is knowing exactly what you need. We have so many people that come to us and just like I need help, I need help. I need help. Okay, that’s great. Let’s dive in. What does that look like? Well, I’m overwhelmed with this, like, okay, so how is this person going to help you with that? Too many people, they just know, they’re drowning, and they think they can throw somebody in and it’ll magically get better. You need to have steps in place for here’s what they’re going to do. Here’s how they’re going to get the information. Here’s how I’m going to train them. Here’s how I’m going to communicate. And that’s part of what we do through Gordian consulting, Gordian staffing, etc, is we help people manage expectations, and we help people bridge the cultural gaps that occur between the US and Mexico in the US and Philippines. Interesting.
Pierce
Okay, so how would you? How would you maximize your remote workers?
Rob
In terms of getting the most efficiency out of them? Yeah,
Pierce
just in terms of like them being the perfect solution to your problem? How do you know what’s the secret to maximising their performance?
Rob
Clear, clear and ongoing communication, you have to meet on a regular basis. One of the number one complaints we hear from staff is, I haven’t heard from this person in three days, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing stuff like that. Definitely making them feel included. You have to be ready to put the time in upfront too many people they call because they’re drowning, and they don’t have the time to train somebody. And I’ve got to know I’ve been there. But you have to remember that it’s going to take more time up front. So make sure you have budgeted that time for the first few days. And then be crystal clear about your expectations. It can’t just be I want you to help with phone calls. You’re going to be answering 70 to 100 phone calls a day. I need a missed call percentage of less than 3%. Here are the things that you can answer and then here are the things I’d like transferred to these people in the company. So the more clear and the more direct you can be, the more things will be successful
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About Rob Buffington
Rob Buffington is an experienced consultant in the HOA management space and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to management companies and mid- size businesses that struggle with vendor services, staffing, bookkeeping, and overall management issues.
Rob doesn’t understand just one or two aspects of the industry. He has been an HOA manager previously and also experience on the vendor side working with HOA’s. He currently owns and runs an accounting firm and a remote staffing company, both which focus on servicing HOA management companies. He brings a well- rounded, unique, perspective on the industry.
His overall professional mission is twofold: Provide the best possible service and consulting to clients and make a positive difference in the world. Each of his companies are heavily involved in local charity work and built on employee profit sharing model, so everyone benefits from the success of their collective business ventures.
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