What is PropTech And How Can It Save Employee Attendance?

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses had to shift to a safer work-from-home setup for their employees. A WFH setup allowed employees to complete tasks at home and ride the pandemic safely and productively. It’s nearly two years. Vaccines have been rolled out, and restrictions are easing up. Many companies are now returning to office-based work and in line with this, are looking for ways to keep their employees safe.

One piece of technology aims to make return-to-work safer and keep up with other tasks like employee attendance, company announcements, and many more.  This technology is called Property Technology or PropTech. Let’s find out what PropTech is, how it works, and how it can help ease the worries and stress of returning to work in this guide.

What Is PropTech?

Short for property technology, PropTech is a set of applications, services, or systems that aim to help clients in the real estate industry. PropTech uses advanced technologies including machine learning to understand user behaviour within a particular environment.

Aside from the real estate industry, PropTech may be applied in different environments like in a company. A business or company headquarters may adapt PropTech to manage tasks as they brace for a full return to office setup. PropTech works with other productivity apps, business management apps, and communication apps so integration with current systems is possible.

What Companies Are Already Using PropTech?

The real estate industry is benefiting from PropTech. However, there are also top brands that are using this software to improve property management and employee timekeeping, and other tasks.

Zumper

Zumper was established in 2012 and is one of the largest real estate tech names in North America. This brand is the recipient of the Forbes 2021 Best Startup Employer award and BuiltIn’s 2021 Best Place to Work with the Best Benefits.

This real estate company uses PropTech and is trusted by top brands like Mashable, Forbes, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. It offers various real estate services like real estate rental, automatic near-the-apartment facilities, electronic payments, online booking, 3D virtual reality, and online virtual touring to name a few.

OpenDoor

Another PropTech company is OpenDoor. This startup was founded in 2014 providing convenient real estate services for sellers and buyers. Just some of the services include map search view listings, final cost calculators, real-time property list generation, video touring or live touring, and property description pages.

OpenDoor also has unique core features like touchless video touring, 360-degree inspection reports, and online net proceeds calculation. Companies that trust OpenDoor include BBB, Reviews.io, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Reonomy

Reonomy is a proptech and fintech software company that generates Big Data and machine learning data for commercial real estate professionals, real estate brokers, and more. It was a part of 2020 CB Insights Fintech 250 Fastest-Growing Fintech Startups because of its impressive performance and key solutions.

Reonomy provides the following services: occupant and ownership data, property details with complete transaction histories, proprietary algorithms, predictive analytics, and more. Companies that prefer Reonomy include JPMorgan Chase, CBRE, Lee & Associates, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Brookfield.

Guesty

Guesty is an Israel-based proptech startup that helps real estate companies and brokers efficiently manage real estate properties. It serves a variety of markets including serviced apartments, apartment hotels, vacation rentals, urban properties, and glamping.

Guesty has the following platform features: booking website generation, accounting and automation, payment processing, reporting software, revenue and task management, and deep analytics. It also provides 24/7 communication services, calendars, advanced listings manager, and many more. Organisations and companies that trust Guesty include Airbnb, Vacation Association Management Partner, VRBO, and Booking.com.

HoloBuilder

HoloBuilder aims to provide clients with construction progress management software. It offers detailed 360-degree real-time tracking of commercial or residential properties that are currently in the building stages. This PropTech software offers capture features, connectivity management tools, 2D photos, progress analytics, templates, and project management tools.

HoloBuilder offers 24/7 online customer support and other services. With all these great features, it is trusted by more companies like Skanska, BAM, Hensel Phelps, TotalView, Mortenson, M+H Architects, and so much more.

Zillow

Zillow is a global PropTech company and is one of the most viewed real estate websites in the U.S. It aims to simplify real estate processes like buying a property, selling a home, renting, and more. Zillow offers services like 3D map views, neighbourhood mapping, online touring, 3D VR property tours, property details, interactive listings, and mobile-friendly listings. Top companies like Stearns Lending, Guild Mortgage, Salesforce, and Bank of England trust only Zillow.

ManageCasa

ManageCasa is a proptech company from San Francisco, CA. It offers property management automation for landlords, tenants, property managers, and contractors to create simplified communication, automate routine tasks, and improve the buying process. ManageCasa has key features like project management, project marketing, accounting, file storage, report generation, and owner portals. This company is a partner of Woodland, Moana Ventures, and Berlin.

Ascendix Technologies

One of the most experienced CRM consulting and proptech companies is Ascendix Technologies. It started in 1996 in Dallas, Texas and now, it is one of the companies that offer key digital solutions including Ascendix Search, AscendixRE CRM, and MarketSpace. Market leaders that prefer Ascendix include Colliers, Granite, Transwestern, Henry S. Miller, and Highwoods Properties.

How Can PropTech Make The Life Of An Employee Better?

By integrating a company programme like its timekeeping software to the PropTech system, employees can access entryways to the company building and at the same time, log in their attendance for the day. The app serves as the hub for company announcements and other specialised services. PropTech can help employees with the following

Attendance Keeping

PropTech is flexible and can work with timekeeping apps. Workers download the app on their smartphones as they prepare to come back to work. The app automatically logs them in and logs them out as they move in and out of the building. This app saves employee attendance, especially those who often forget to log in and out of work. PropTech can detect if an employee is within the workplace or has left the area so it’s very easy to use.

Building Access

The app helps employees enter the building using touchless access. The coronavirus is spread by touch and thus, adopting a system with touchless access features is the best way to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. There’s no need to use IDs, fobs, or cards to get in or out. Employees can easily open doors even while holding a full load.  Also, non-employees can request building access through the app. A code will be sent to their smartphones which they can use to gain access.

Creating Requests

The app can unlock doors to prevent holding touch-sensitive areas. It can help reserve certain areas in the office like presentation rooms, conference rooms, and meeting areas without the need to fill out forms and limit face-to-face interactions. The app also sends visitor passes to guests so they can enter the building which again, limits face-to-face interactions among employees.

Company Announcements

Employees won’t have to look anywhere for company announcements for events, building management announcements, and other important things that should be disseminated to all workers. The app ensures that all employees are aware of any water or power interruptions, system maintenance shutdowns, new health protocols, and others.

Help Safely Return to Work

PropTech was initially developed for the real estate industry. A common application of PropTech is in a condominium building where the app helps secure residents and inform the latest building management announcements. In workplaces or offices, PropTech helps employees go back to work safely and more efficiently. Here are some examples.

The app prevents touching common areas that can lead to the spread of the coronavirus.

  • Social distancing is enforced in many offices. The app informs workers of the number of people staying or are present in a particular room.
  • The app avoids face-to-face interactions as requests are made virtually.
  • The app informs employees of any scheduled disinfecting of a room, area, or division of the company.
  • The app keeps track of attendance without the need to use timecards, fingerprint scanning, or ID scanning which can facilitate the spread of the coronavirus.

Final Words

New and exciting apps are available every day changing how people live and do business. Businesses need to tap into this huge opportunity to reap amazing rewards. Property technology aims to help companies enhance their services and improve overall safety and efficiency. To find out how PropTech can help your business, consult a mobile app development specialist today.

About the author: Pranjal Bora works as Head of Product Development at Digital Authority Partners

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