The problems of a real estate office
Many real estate agents have abandoned their realty offices in favor of a home office because of office noise. There are a number of issues at hand:
- Distraction – Too much office noise can be quite distracting while trying to work or make business-related calls.
- Overheard Personal Information – Most office workers don’t want other agents or passers-by to overhear personal information given during calls.
- Competing agents – There are times that the agent on the other side of a deal being negotiated is present in the office. The last thing agents want is for the agent on the other side of the deal to overhear a seller’s bottom price or a buyer’s top price.
- Lack of professionalism – Similar to distraction, ambient office noise in the background does not sound personal and professional to a client on the other end of a call or in a meeting at the office.
When making a major decision, such as buying a house, most people want to know that their personal information is kept confidential
As a result, many realtors resorted to setting up a home office with fewer distractions. Unfortunately, setting up shop at home is very expensive for the individual because (s)he has to buy all the equipment to facilitate real estate contracts, such as a reliable computer, a fax machine, a printer, and space for all to have its own home, not to mention restocking office supplies. Aside from the personal expense, though, is the generation of a new set of problems: being productive from home. Not all realtors are as focused or professional when they work from home. For some, the distractions from home prove to be too great for productivity, and others lack the discipline to treat the workday as a workday.
Sound Masking for Realtors
A better solution for most would be the addition of a sound masking system within the real estate office building itself. Therefore, the realtors wouldn’t feel the need to abandon ship and could keep on doing business from a centralized, professional location. Their clients would see an aesthetically-pleasing office that is in the city, rather than a possibly unkempt or inconvenient home office.
How does sound masking work?
Systems like the VoiceArrest Sound Masking System are installed directly in the ceiling tiles themselves and the speakers emit white noise. This low-level background noise covers distracting sounds and also provides privacy and confidentiality for all parties involved. Think of an open-style kitchen where you can hear people talking in the living room, too. While nothing is running, you can hear parts of several different conversations, whether you are trying to or not. However, once you turn on the sink or the dishwasher starts running, you can only actively take part in your own immediate conversation because the soft sound of the water or the dishwasher mutes the intelligibility of the voices around you. In the same way, white noise also covers office noise. The result in your real estate office is twofold:
- Your realtors can work productively in their offices =Productivity
- Their clients can get the best representation possible =Professionalism & Confidentiality
Now that’s an investment worth making.
