One of the biggest mistakes that can trip one up as a title agency owner is making decisions in a vacuum.
This is not just a business problem but a human problem, for instance, when we thoughtlessly mow down the Amazon forest without considering the long-term impact or use pesticides that end up being toxic for wildlife and destroying the very soil in which we are trying to grow food.
In business, this kind of thinking is a form of silo mentality, where a manager plows forward with a new process or technology adoption without communicating with other departments whom it may impact or without looking at how this new way of doing things will impact the greater whole.
Decision-makers who understand, map and support the interrelationships inherent in their systems are more likely to build a successful enterprise.
People, processes and technology
In an insightful article on relationships in IT management, Tony Whitehead, vice president, platform observability for LPL Financial, opines that great service companies have to manage three things: people, processes and technology (PPT) and the more skilled leaders manage this triad by focusing on the interrelationship of these three aspects.
“People, processes, and technology can certainly function independently, seemingly in vacuums, and isolated from each other,” said Whitehead. “But as technology continues to advance and our dependency on it increases, I submit that the richer the relationships that exist within each of these groupings, and the stronger the bond between them, the better experience we will all have as they move forward … together.”
This is completely on point when it comes to running a title agency, where a series of employees in disparate departments must access a complicated tech stack for multitudinous reasons in the course of a real estate transaction.
The temptation is to jump in with both feet when you encounter some challenge in your systems without considering the full scope of the problem.
For example…
A case in point may be when a title agency evaluates feedback from customers and identifies a weakness in their customer service protocols. Silo mentality would be to scapegoat someone on staff for allegedly not doing their job. The reality may be that the employee may have been complaining for months about a technology issue or a procedure failure that was undermining their ability to effectively serve the customer.
The interrelationship approach would be to look at the problem wholistically and determine if there is a solution that emerges from the relationship between all three PPT elements.
This would involve a process of evaluation in which you assess where these customer service failures exist in the process, how the technology is being utilized in that situation, and the proficiency of all staff members in weaving the technological capabilities effectively into the process.
Taking a thoughtful approach cannot only help you solve the problem and improve your customer service – in this example – but can give you a leg up in assessing where additional technology would be helpful.
At VizionX, this interrelationship is fundamental to our approach to developing powerful, intuitive, and customizable solutions that automate everyday tasks, such as our fee engine. In crafting these innovative technologies, we focused on the intersection of technology, people and processes to eliminate mundane tasks, infuse your procedures with accurate and timely information, create a robust software that allows multiple people to work on the same project, and empower your team to focus on your client. Call us today to learn more!
