Howards have built their business based on the pillars of innovation and exceeding client's expectations. They were one of the early customers of the then 'new to market' software Aspasia and saw the parallels between what this software had to offer and how it could assist them in delivering on their promises to their customers.

The software was first rolled out in their residential sales operation in 2003 across all of their 14 offices replacing CFP WinEstate. The decision was made to operate the system on the sales side of the business initially as "lettings is so much more complex and the demands on accounting are huge," said Chief Executive Residential Lettings & Management for Howards, David McMaster.  However, once the system was established in the residential sales operation, the opportunities to extend Aspasia into lettings became apparent. Based on previous experience, David knew he didn't want to operate a manual list across multiple offices and he and his team saw the benefits of being able to link the two sides of the business together. "The main thing that got us excited was not only could someone walk into any office and get a lettings list but even if they walked into a sales office, they still received a high level of service and we were able to expand our presence in the lettings market," added David.

However, the reality of rolling out new technology is never simple, even when the software had been used on the sales side already.  "CFP WinMan was very different and we went through 3 months of pain," reflected David. "Aspasia's approach to training is based on a standard training package but we also give one member of each office additional training to create a 'super user'. We find that by giving one person in each office additional training, user confidence increases more rapidly as they can call on someone they know who can sit beside them to help".

As time has progressed though, the difference between CFP and Aspasia are being proven. "We have better reporting, better ability to control things and accuracy and detail have also improved," said David. "The management level is incredibly useful, for example the way in which you can see exactly what is going on in any area of the business and the reporting allows you to gain comparisons year on year or between branches. You can gain snapshots of anything," he added.

The management team have also noticed how Aspasia can help them with staff development. "Through Aspasia we can see what people are doing and this can highlight training needs. It could be perceived as a bit big brother but we use it in a proactive way to assist our people develop and use the system constructively to support people management."

One of the advantages of the web-based nature of Aspasia is that all data is held centrally. "One of the main benefits we have accrued is through centralised property management. We have company mobiles that are used out of office hours. If staff receive a call, they can log on to Aspasia from home and deal with the problem very effectively. This has resulted in a very good and controlled out of hours property management service," explained David.

But we also have to be realistic about the hurdles that need to be jumped. "The physical transfer of data for over 1100 properties was a challenge. "The team at Aspasia wrote us a specific program and were very helpful during the transition but this is a challenge for any company changing their IT," stated David. "This is especially critical with accounts information as data accuracy is vital and we set up a system to ensure accuracy, but it was a phenomenal level of work."

So now the system has been operational for a while, the acid test is the staff's attitude to Aspasia. "It was painful for a while and some staff members struggled to embrace it but there is no-one now who would want to change back," summarised David.

March 2008