"We should have done it sooner": How Harcourts Solutions transformed property management in just 5 weeks

The transformation was so profound that today, if you asked their team whether they'd go back to their old system, the answer would be unanimous: "They wouldn't. They would have done it sooner."

For Harcourts Solutions, the decision to switch to Ailo wasn't taken lightly. After five major system changes in 10 years, their team had genuine concerns about another transition. But three critical factors made Ailo different:

"Team happiness is really important to us," explains Jodie Stainton.

The second factor was client satisfaction. "It's really critical that we get everything right, and Ailo's allowed us to do that."

The third was growth - both organic and through acquisition. What set the Ailo platform apart was its unique ability to handle acquisitions seamlessly.

"The fact that it allowed the databases to all from the front end look the same, and everyone to be able to work on the same system, that was an amazing thing that we hadn't seen in any other system."

The moment of realisation came just five weeks after implementation.

"There was this moment five weeks afterwards where Jess and I looked at each other and said, we have every single one of our team members doing the same thing the same way, and we've not achieved that in three years beforehand," Jodie recalls.

"Anyone in property management knows how difficult that is," she notes. "But the reason that's so important is because of the continuity of service. It's team happiness. They're all working on the one thing and making it exceptional. So all of a sudden, the whole standard rises."

The standardisation hasn't just improved consistency, it's transformed how the team operates daily.

This clarity has also revolutionised recruitment. "We can recruit more property managers or greener property managers and really know that they have all the skills and all the tools they need to do the job, cause all they have to do is follow the bouncing ball," says Jess.

The difference from legacy systems is stark. "Before, in a legacy system you had to know what you were looking for to do the job, whereas today I show up to work today and I have a list of all the things that I have to do today to be successful in my role and to provide great service."

Despite initial concerns about another system change, the implementation proved surprisingly smooth.

"I don't think that was too mammoth of a task. It still felt easy. We still operated the business really well," Jess notes.

The key to success was Ailo's specialised support approach. "What you had was someone actually working on the trust accounting area, someone working on the project area, someone working on the implementation of the data. We knew exactly what was happening."

Getting team buy-in was crucial for Harcourts Solutions. They took a methodical approach, including office visits to other offices to see Ailo in action and allowing team members to "just look at everyone work" to understand how it functioned in practice.

The result? Complete team alignment.

Today, the team sees clearly how they were "working around the system to make it work" with their previous software. "They see it now and they get why and they go, we totally get why you wanted to do this."

The investor response to the Ailo platform has been remarkable. "Close to 70% of our investors jumped on the app and actually just started to change what they wanted," Jodie says.

This high adoption rate has transformed communication.

"They use the app more, which means their communication is central in one place. They're using the chat feature, which means the chat responses and replies are so much quicker—again, a greater experience for the client and for our team."

Perhaps the most telling example of Ailo's impact came from an unexpected source - a tenant's response to a routine inspection.

"She got a message from a tenant after a routine inspection... she sent this beautiful thank you letter to the tenant, and the tenant responded and said wow, in the 30 years I've rented, I've never been thanked for how I've cared for the property," shares Jess.

She reflects: "I think every property manager would like to offer that experience to a tenant. Now they're actually able to deliver it because it's so easy, seamless, all in one place."

For Harcourts Solutions, Ailo has delivered on all three of their critical factors: team happiness, client satisfaction, and business growth. The transformation achieved in just five weeks has set a new standard for their operations.

For property management businesses considering their next move, the message from Harcourts Solutions is clear: the risk isn't in changing, it's in waiting too long to make the switch.