Digitising – Simple, right?

Transferring a form from analogue to digital: a simple matter, one might think. This is definitely not the case with the housing application form, as our experience shows. 

Simply digitise

This article is published in the March issue of the magazine Immobilia, the association organ of the SVIT Schweiz.

Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality or artificial intelligence: these are the big buzzwords that many people associate with digitalisation and which inspire respect in some. Also because many of us do not even understand what exactly is meant by these buzzwords. However, digitalisation does not only consist of such highly complex topics. Digitisation simply also means transferring existing, analogue processes into a digital world.

The last, great bastion of the analogue world in the real estate industry is the registration form for prospective tenants. A sheet of paper is still handed out at a large part of flat viewings, which is then - filled out by hand by flat seekers - sent by post to the administration together with the printout of the debt enforcement register extract. At the administration, on the other hand, the managers have to sort through the documents received and integrate them into the existing digital administration systems. A large amount of time is required on both sides, which can be reduced with the help of digitisation. At flatfox, a total of over 20,000 digital applications have already been received from professional administrations. The number has more than tripled in one year. What we have learned: the path to digitalisation must not be underestimated. We would like to give you an insight into three lessons we have learned over the last few years with the digitalisation of the letting process:

1. The added value from digitisation will follow later on

Using the digital application form, the application reaches the administration more quickly, the data of the selected applicants is mapped in the existing administration systems, analysed and the right proposals for contract entry are generated. At the beginning, we were too little aware of the full extent of the complexity. During the changeover, we even have to reckon with a higher effort, as work is temporarily duplicated in analogue and digital form. This will be the case for a longer period of time. It is worthwhile to pay close attention to change management within the company. A change in the usual processes requires close support for the employees and their involvement in the process. Also, further internal system changes are usually necessary.

It helps if the implementation is consistent and motivated, initiated and supported by top management. A gain in efficiency cannot be expressed concretely in amounts of francs or minutes, and it would not be until the digital process is really consistently carried through from A to Z. We recently conducted a survey among all managers who work with flatfox. 83% answered that the digital application process has improved their work process. And the master's thesis of a student at the University of Zurich shows that an employee of a real estate company who complies with flatfox's digital leasing process has an average lead time that is 10.4% shorter than someone who does not. The lead time describes the time from the insertion of the advertisement to the conclusion of the rental contract. In administrations working with flatfox, an average of 40% of applications are currently processed completely digitally. This is still less than half and the added value is still modest. However, the trend is upwards and soon the majority of all applications will be processed digitally in the first administration.

2. Simple is not the same as easy - requirements for the digital registration form

For a long time we stuck to a standardised form, thinking that this would be easier for interested parties as well as for advertisers. We were convinced that more fields also meant more work for the administrations in terms of data quality, maintenance or even checking the data. And the interested party cannot reuse his form. However, the requirements for the form were simply too diverse. For example, some administrations required a photo of the pet and others wanted to collect the amount of risk.

The requirements for a form should not be underestimated. More fields mean fewer applications and, conversely, fewer fields mean more applications. Data protection is another issue that needs attention. In the environment of rising vacancy rates, there is now an increased focus on customer friendliness and tenant satisfaction. We have already noticed a rethinking in this direction among many administrations. Nevertheless, we have said goodbye to standardisation and now offer a compromise between simple and configurable, depending on the type of property. Nevertheless, we hope that the administrations will create concise application forms for interested parties.

3. Mobile development surprises - digital applications on the move

93% of the Swiss population already use the internet primarily for mobile communication. (gem. Media Use Index 2018). It is therefore not surprising that the managers in our survey see the greatest added value - apart from the digital form - in the communication with interested parties, which is based on WhatsApp with flatfox.

This trend can also be seen in the digital application form. In 2018 (2019), over 19,000 (5,000) digital applications were submitted. Mobile usage is therefore increasing markedly.

The figures show that more and more users scan the QR code with their mobile phone directly after the visit, look at the registration form or even enter initial data. The form is then completed at home. Especially since smartphone manufacturers have integrated scanning of the QR code into the camera, it is becoming an extremely exciting tool.

Conclusion: Exploit mobile better

The last few years have been an exciting and surprisingly instructive time. Our daily challenge is to make what we have achieved even better together with our clients. The goal is to increase the share of digital rentals to over 60%. We will continue to self-critically question the status quo and, if necessary, change our decisions. And we want to better understand and exploit the great potential of mobile. With one goal: the majority of new lettings and re-letting in Switzerland is done digitally.