Celebrating Administrative Professionals’ Day: A peek into the vital role of real estate admins

Did you know that April 24th is Administrative Professionals’ Day this year? If you’re a busy realtor, chances are you have (or have had) an administrative assistant supporting your day-to-day business operations.

Today we honour the real estate administrative professionals in our lives, often the unsung heroes of any real estate brokerage.

We spoke with Ashley Wilson from Abundance Haven Real Estate Services and Rachel Wakaluk from Garbutt + Dumas Real Estate Team, based in British Columbia, to get a glimpse into the day in the life of a real estate administrative professional. 

 

Morning

 

“Usually my mornings consist of getting up and taking my dogs out. Truthfully, I’ve probably already looked at my phone and replied to some emails from bed. It’s truly an industry that never sleeps,” shares Wilson. “There’s always lots to do. I’ll go to the gym, or go to a coffee shop and work. I really like working from anywhere.” 

With remote work rising in popularity, real estate agents who have administrative professionals could consider how to make remote or asynchronous work, well … work. 

Wilson believes that building a relationship based on trust is crucial to making remote work possible. She’s a big believer in creating systems and processes that work well for both the realtor and administrator. 

“It should be a very seamless process,” she adds. “I think that the most untrusting people that I’ve seen over the years with their assistants are the people who are chaotic and don’t have systems or processes in place.”

 

Afternoon

 

“My afternoons are usually quite busy,” says Wakaluk. “I have an opportunity to work on things like social media postings or making a listing.”

Wakaluk is also an advocate for structure and organization when it comes to working with realtors:

“I have tried my best to ‘train’ the realtors on what my structure is in order to better serve them, to help ensure they’re always in compliance and that they have what they need ahead of time,” she adds. “I don’t like to be behind the eight ball — I like to be ahead of the game as much as I can.”

 

Evening

 

While 5:00 pm might mean quitting time for some industries, in the real estate world this is when the real work begins.

“Evening is when the offers happen and you have to be ready for it,” Wilson states. “If you’re not, and the offer comes in, then what? It’s typically (about) being prepared and knowing what’s going on.” 

But this doesn’t mean you’ll be drowning in paperwork every evening. Wilson emphasizes the importance of acknowledging burnout and how to address it as a real estate administrative professional.

“I think the biggest thing in this industry that can happen especially for admins is the burnout,” she admits. “We are so focused on doing whatever they ask of us and whatever is needed, and it has to get done. If we don’t, then the Docusign deal doesn’t happen. If we don’t check the email, there might be an offer in the inbox. There are all these things they’re relying on us for, 24/7.”

After almost 20 years of working in the industry, Wakaluk agrees with this sentiment.

“I think there’s always a wish that we can maintain boundaries better, but working in real estate, it always goes back to being a little flexible,” she explains. “It’s not strictly a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job and anyone who goes into it thinking otherwise is sorely mistaken.”

 

Advice for real estate administrators

 

Wilson’s biggest advice for real estate administrative professionals? Take the breaks when they do come. “Anytime you can get that chance to just take a little break (for) yourself and give yourself that balance that we lack in this industry is so important.”

For Wilson, that’s catching up on the latest episode of Love is Blind. Whatever your outlet, she advises taking it when the opportunity presents itself.

 

Advice for realtors

 

Real estate administrative professionals are not required to be licensed, although many of them have done so to make work more seamless for their employers. Brokerages should be mindful of the responsibilities and limitations that come with each individual administrator based on their education, experience and/or credentials.

When it comes to her advice for realtors, Wakaluk sums it up quite simply:

“Pay them well. Treat them well.” She points out that assistants are an investment, not a cost, to the business. ”They are there to help you make more money. The only time a realtor really makes money is when they’re in front of a client — not when they’re filing paperwork.”