The conveyancing process. Elevated by technology. Powered by relationships

As we slowly start to come out of this lockdown, it’s prompted me to pause and reflect on how far we’ve all come this past year.

I, and it seems a lot of people have done a fair amount of re-assessing their life, both personally and professionally.

Whether it’s deciding they can’t live in a 1 bed flat anymore since lockdowns have become a normal part of our lives (that would be me); or deciding to move out of big cities^1,2 into more rural areas; or that we need to adjust our work life balances; or that they’re not as much of an introvert as they thought, (given that the opportunities for human interaction were at an absolute minimum over the past 12 months).

Professionally I feel very fortunate working in an industry and market that has boomed despite there being a global pandemic – in part due to the SDLT holiday and the pent up demand during the initial lockdown. We’ve all had to embrace home working and embrace a lot of technology, willingly or not. If there’s one important thing I’ve learned this past year, it’s that all aspects of our industry, across all parts of a property transaction, could do with exploring and embracing more digital technology and tools in order to be more resilient. The new platforms, online tools, and technology we have available to us are in abundance, and can only make our lives better and more efficient. Ultimately this helps our customers’ experience when purchasing a property – one of the most stressful and significant times in their lives.

Digital is an aspect of the conveyancing industry that will only continue to grow, whether you’re a conveyancer, a search provider, surveyor, estate agent, data provider, or a house purchaser. However, one thing that quickly became apparent is the need for human interaction. Whilst it’s all well and good having all this amazing technology at our fingertips, we have learnt that in person relationships, whether personal or professional are still vitally important and a key aspect that touches everything we do – over and above technology.

When things go wrong, you want to pick up the phone and speak to that person that can help and advise you. Just like when things go right, there’s nothing better than celebrating it with those colleagues and team members you work so closely with. Human brain power matters, good relationships are key, good service is paramount. I think we can all agree that technology is a wonderful tool to enhance and elevate how we work, but people and the support we provide each other really can make or break it.

I’m proud to work with great people at Groundsure. Whether it’s the GIS Team who work hard to ensure the quality and standards of our data is consistently high; our Consultancy Team who read, risk assess, and write reports; our Product & Engineering Team who design and make the technology work; or the Customer Service Team who are always on hand to help with questions or issues that clients may have. It is our relationships, service, and client satisfaction that underpins everything we do, and I’d like to think that shines through.

References

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2020/12/01/are-people-really-moving-out-of-cities-due-to-the-pandemic/ 
2. https://www.groundsure.com/resources/are-we-really-escaping-to-the-country/