When is the right time for a better household management system?
Is everything in your household running smoothly, or is it time for a better way of managing your to-do lists, vendors, household staff, and projects?
Getting started with a new system of managing your household can be daunting. It’s easy to think, “but we’ve always done it this way,” or “these are just our homes, we don’t need a formal home management system.” But failing to acknowledge the need for a household management system can leave you vulnerable — whether you’re running the risk of losing an important vendor’s contact information or missing critical household tasks (which can result in property damage).
At Nines, we talk with countless families, family offices, and private service professionals every day who are curious about our household management platform. And we often hear the question, how do you know when it’s time to invest in a better household management system?
If you’re a principal who spends more time stressing over how to manage your properties and household staff than enjoying your life at home, or if you’re an estate manager wishing you had twice as many hours in the day, chances are, you’ve reached a state of unmanageability, and now is the right time for a better system. And while there’s no single right time to get started with something new, here are three scenarios that suggest it’s time to invest in a household management platform.
1. When you hire your first household staff member
You’ve decided to hire a housekeeper, and as a housekeeping expert, she’ll know how to take care of your home and everything within it, right? Wrong.
While every private service professional you hire will bring their own expertise and experience, it’s important to understand that every home is different. It’s up to you — whether you’re the homeowner or the household manager — to set them up for success by providing the information they need, whether that’s your family’s specific preferences or information about your surfaces so they can use the right cleaning techniques.
2. When you hire a new household or estate manager
A house manager or an estate manager acts as the COO of your home, overseeing the day to day operations, taking on the work of managing staff and vendors, and ensuring everything across your properties runs smoothly.
You wouldn’t ask the COO of your business to cobble together sub-par tools to do their job — you’d want them to build an infrastructure that sets them and your business up to operate at the highest level. And it should be the same in your home. Rather than expecting a seasoned estate manager to spend hours building out countless Excel spreadsheets for everything from home inventory to cleaning protocols, invest in a household management platform that enables them to save time and empower the whole team.
With a dedicated household management platform like Nines, your household manager can assign tasks to key staff members, set reminders to minimize endless text threads, get notifications for completed tasks, log what’s happening across your properties, and keep track of all of your household’s most important information — from warranties and insurance policies to housekeeping protocols and family preferences.
Plus, Nines also offers training and connection for household managers, with our Modern Household Management Workshops and Easemakers community for private service professionals, so you can set your household’s leadership up to shine in their new role.
3. When you add a new property
When you buy in a new property, it’s critical to ensure you’re protecting your investment. The process of acquiring a new property presents a fantastic opportunity to get started with a better way of organizing all of the information that comes with it — from the types of systems and surfaces you have, to the vendors who provide the best service in your new area.
Organizing and preserving this information from the very beginning will help you protect and preserve your property, as well as the assets and systems within it, over time.
Ready to get started?
The right household management platform can help you preserve your household’s most important information, create continuity, set staff up for success, and ultimately, help you focus your time at home on what matters most to you. Ready to see why families, family offices, and household staff have embraced Nines as a better way of keeping homes running smoothly? Schedule a call with our team today.