Step-by-step Ailo Projects put this LJ Hooker duo on the road to 500

Shanelle Van Kalken has been through three mergers, and this is close to her third time on Ailo. When she took her role as Senior Property Manager at LJ Hooker Mudgeeraba, being on Ailo was part of the deal. Business Development Manager Leah Foster has been beside her the whole way.

For Shanelle, the difference is being shown what to do next. "I've used three different legacy systems and none of them just have that ability to tell you what to do each day, like have that step by step within every single project," she says.

The two work as a pair, and their Ailo Projects are built around that. They went through every project together and decided who is responsible for each step, keeping most of Ailo's defaults. When Shanelle finishes her part of a new business project, the next Action goes to Leah automatically. "I know Leah's going to do her next step," Shanelle says.

When Shanelle is on leave, Leah picks up where she left off, with the notes already there. "There's no spreadsheets. There's no note jotting down. It's all there," Leah says. "It's like your happiness comes back."

The pair recently helped a team from another office move to Ailo, and their advice started with the morning routine. "First thing of the day, don't look at your Outlook, don't look at your emails, look at your projects, look at your actions," Shanelle says. What surprised that team most was being able to comment on a message, a project or an Action and assign it to someone. "There's no picking up the phone, emailing, going into somebody's office," Leah says. "It's just all there for you."

Owners notice too. When a tenant paid late and the rent missed the end of month disbursement, Shanelle offered to release it to the owner straight away. "He's like, 'Yes, please,'" she says. Investors can also see their own balances and what is in flight. "Nothing's kept from them," Leah says.

Now the focus is growth. "We're on our road to 500," Shanelle says. With arrears reminders going out automatically and no disbursement runs to do by hand, she sees room for far more.

For Leah, the time is only part of it. "It's definitely about time and bringing back that love for property management again, so you're not so stressed out all the time," she says. Three mergers on, the two are still side by side, and still enjoying the work.