TC Setting Boundaries #2: Working Hours
Hi everyone!
In this post, I am continuing my series about setting boundaries when working as a transaction coordinator. If you missed my last post, it was all about setting boundaries regarding the scope of your work - check it out here. Today’s post focuses on setting boundaries regarding your working hours. This is so important because 1. Working as a TC allows you to work in real estate without the crazy hours! and 2. Agents are working all kinds of crazy hours so you need to be clear upfront about when you will be available! I personally work 9 am - 5 pm in the agent’s timezone, Monday - Friday, and take off on Federal Holidays. I make this clear when bringing on a new agent and they are all very respectful of my working hours! It gives me the work-life balance I desire and that is something I don’t want to mess with, so setting boundaries is a must! You don’t want to end up working 24/7 anytime one of your agents sends in a request! I doubt that’s why you got into this business!
Alright, now how do we set our boundaries upfront and keep them? Let’s get into the tips for setting boundaries with the agents:
Decide and define your business working hours - Keep in mind what works best for you. Depending on your situation, later or earlier hours or even maybe trading a weekend day for a weekday may work best! Also think of vacations, holidays, etc, and how you want those handled. In my experience, most TCs work somewhat “traditional” office hours, so I wouldn’t recommend straying too far from that, but this is your business so do what works best for you!
Mention your working hours on your onboarding call with agents.
Inform the agents upfront of your working hours and days during your onboarding call with them. Most TCs work some type of set hours, so this should not be a shock to them! This also makes the agent immediately aware and sets a boundary upfront!
Have some subtle reminders - Keep your working hours in an easy-to-reference place in case the agent or another party isn’t getting a response and wants to confirm why.
Have your working hours posted somewhere on your website or social media pages
Outline your working hours in your email signature:
I like when TCs (or anyone!) have their working hours at the bottom of their email signature because it is a frequent reminder and is easy to go back and reference. It also informs the other parties of the transaction (buyer, seller, etc) and sets the appropriate expectation for when you will respond.
Have an out-of-office reminder for after-hours/weekends - Take putting your hours in your email signature a step further by having a basic auto-responder for any time you are off the clock:
For everyday use, this can be something simple like “Thank you for your email! Our hours are 9 am - 5 pm CST Monday - Friday. We will receive your message within 1 business day and get back to you.” I like this method because it directly alerts people and makes it very clear when they can expect to receive a response.
Obviously do this for holidays/vacation - when you are truly “out of the office”! In this case, include the date you will return and who to contact in your absence.
Now that we’ve put some boundaries in place, the most important thing we need to do this not break our boundaries. If you start responding on a weekend to an agent, they might expect that to be the norm all the time, which will only stress you out or lead to having to have an awkward conversation down the line. The agent also might start to expect to receive special treatment, if you responded once on a Saturday, why wouldn’t you respond the next Saturday? The below tips help set boundaries with yourself and avoid the temptation to respond altogether - or to let a negative email ruin your weekend!
Set boundaries with your email:
While I support having your work email on your phone in case you need to access something in a pinch, I HIGHLY suggest turning off the notifications. We all know how tempting a red dot can be. You could be out having fun on a Saturday and see a negative email come through that ruins your mood, and then keeps ruining your mood all the way until Monday! Also, you could accidentally read something and forget to respond. It’s not worth it! Your emails can wait until you are back in the office. TURN OFF YOUR NOTIFICATIONS!
Set boundaries with your phone:
Do not disturb settings:
One of my new favorite things about a recent iPhone update is the new versions of the do not disturb settings. Instead of just the traditional do not disturb, they now also have options for work, personal, and sleep! I love using all of these different settings. You can choose what contacts and apps you get notifications from depending on which setting you are in. When you are in personal mode and an agent texts you, you won’t even get an alert, but the text will still be there when you are ready to go back into work mode! I love that!! This article goes into depth on how to set up custom Do Not Disturb settings on your iPhone: https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-use-iphone-do-not-disturb
Auto-responder text:
I found out about this feature when I received an auto-reply text from one of my agents who was out on vacation. This works similarly to an out-of-office message on your email as it sends all contacts who text you a message back stating you are unavailable (or whatever message you decide). I would say this method is better for when you are on a true vacation or holiday since it sends a direct alert to people and you could include information on who to contact in your absence or when you will be back. It also sends to all your contacts from my understanding so this may not be something you want happening every night and weekend. This article goes into more detail on the auto-responder and how to set it up: https://mashtips.com/iphone-auto-reply-text/
Use a third-party phone provider:
If you want to take your phone separation a step further, consider using a third-party program like Google Voice to avoid giving out your personal number altogether. I also like that with Google Voice you can get emails for texts, missed calls, and voicemails, keeping more of your notifications in one place. You can download the Google Voice app on your phone and then choose not to get voice notifications in personal mode (layering two tips there!). You also can set working hours on Google Voice.
Get a separate work phone:
This is the most involved and highest-cost option for setting phone boundaries, but if it is in your budget, I would highly recommend looking into it. Having a separate phone you can treat like an office phone and turn off/put away after hours eliminates almost any chance of seeing a notification that might interrupt your personal time or tempt you to break your boundaries. This could also limit distractions WHILE working if you don’t give your work number out to family and friends, and don’t download any distracting apps!
By being clear upfront, having subtle reminders, and keeping your boundaries in place, no agent should expect a response outside of business hours, providing you with the business/life balance you desire! Which one of these tips are you implementing first?!
