How Pocock & Shaw found a solution to "take the pressure off"

Lockdown: The problem to solve

Before lockdown, Pocock & Shaw had been using a third-party referencing service - until new pandemic rules came into play, restricting face-to-face contact.

That's when the agency realised the limitations of this process, which involved a lot of touch points with tenants and landlords. With furlough in place too, its small team was limited in how much it could get done.

A new provider to support a remote process

"The provider that we were working with at the time wasn't as advanced as Goodlord," says Mary. "They didn't do online signing or produce tenancy agreements, for example. They just did referencing."

With lockdown, the agency had to limit its face-to-face contact with customers, and it was at that point that it started to look for a solution that "encompassed more than the standard tenancy procedure," says Mary. Goodlord was the answer.

Result: More efficiencies and flexibility

The first business change that the agency saw with Goodlord was more time for the team to get their work done, despite being a team of only three full-time staff members. "The Goodlord platform has really helped to take the pressure off us in the office," says Mary.

"We have quite a quick turnover between a tenancy ending and a new one starting. We therefore needed a technology that can keep pace with us - and help us do more, even as a small team."

In a fast-paced environment, human error can creep into processes, and that's where Goodlord's technology can also support.

"It's given us the reassurance that tenancy agreements are up to date with current legislation - yet we still have flexibility and the ability to add clauses where necessary," says Mary. "They're all saved on the system too, so we know that there won't be anything wrong when we send them out."

Product focus: Rent protection

On top of this, rent protection was an added bonus for the agency. An agency that chooses to offer this service to landlords, like Pocock & Shaw, can help protect the revenue of both its business and its landlords if a tenant falls into arrears.

The flexibility of Goodlord's product means that it's not just limited to fully managed clients. With a monthly payment option, Pocock & Shaw offers the service to their let-only landlords, with an invoice for a monthly amount.