REPLAY PMC AUDIO SUMMIT 2025 / Happy Teams as a Growth Strategy by Shannon Welch

We share the leadership habits that turn team happiness into real business growth, especially when your staff are remote and on the road. We break down how to build culture through consistent daily moments, clear feedback, and trust that helps people thrive. 

• culture built in consistency, not big events 
• leadership as creating safety to ask questions and make mistakes 
• availability versus approachability, and building extra touch points 
• why the first trainer sets the tone for onboarding and retention 
• “Clear is kind” feedback that drives accountability without shame 
• care as small actions that compound into loyalty and engagement 
• investing in people and creating real growth pathways 
• letting go, delegating in small steps, and outsourcing low-value work 
Ask your team that one simple question: What would make your role feel lighter? Then act on one thing they tell you 

This podcast is sponsored by Inspection Express. 

Inspection Express and Paperless Office is the leader in innovative, time saving property Inspection Software.

Property Management Software | Inspection Express & Paperless Office (ipropertyexpress.com)

Transcript

Welcome And Why Happiness Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, it's Shannon here. Thanks so much for tuning into the PM Collective Audio Summit. What an awesome initiative this is that Ash has put together for us. Whether you're out on the road between inspections, catching up over a coffee or winding down at the end of the day, I'm really glad you're here. Today I want to talk about something that has completely shaped the way I lead and how my business has grown over the years. It's the idea that a happy team isn't just nice to have. Over the past 10 years, I've led a team that spread right across WA, most recently the East Coast and in the Philippines. So most of them are on the road or working remotely. And what I've learned is this culture doesn't just happen, it's built in the small things, the way you respond when things go wrong, the tone of your feedback, and how people feel after they've spoken to you. At the start, I thought culture meant being friendly, keeping in touch, maybe having the occasional team lunch. But culture isn't built in moments, it's built in consistency. It's not how your team feels at the Christmas party, it's how they feel on a random Wednesday in March. For me, it really clicked when I realized leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about creating safety. When your team feels safe to ask questions, to make mistakes, or to say, I'm struggling, that's when you see genuine engagement. I've always had an open door policy. Anyone can come to me, but I've learned being available isn't the same as being approachable. You can say your door's open, but if your energy says, I'm too busy, no one is going to walk through it. So I make sure people have other touch points too. If you don't feel comfortable coming to me, they can go to Bonnie, our staff trainer. And honestly, she has been an absolute game changer. Bonnie has this warmth that instantly puts people at ease. Every new inspector spends their first two weeks with her. And since she's taken on that role, our retention has been incredible. Before Bonnie, we had a different trainer, highly skilled but under a lot of stress. And that energy flowed into our new inspectors. They'd start already feeling overwhelmed, and that stuck with them, and they didn't last. When Bonnie came in, everything changed. She's calm, patient, kind. She makes people feel capable. And that taught me something huge. The person who welcomes someone into your business sets the tone for how they'll experience your culture. I'm going to say that again. The person who welcomes someone into your business sets the tone for how they'll experience your culture. If the first person they meet is calm, supportive, and confident, they'll see your business that way. If that first person is rushed, reactive, or abrupt, that's how they'll see it too. So be intentional about who trains or mentors your new people. That first impression anchors everything that comes after. Now, once someone's in the business, keeping them happy is where leadership really comes into play. Happiness doesn't mean constant smiles, it means people feel valued, understood, and supported. I describe my leadership style as nurturing but firm. I'm casual, approachable, but also fair and consistent. When something goes wrong, I don't ignore it. I call the person straight away, chat through what happened, and I give feedback kindly and clearly. Recently, I heard Daisy Pierce speak at a conference and she said something that's stuck with me ever since. Clear is kind. And I thought, yeah, that's it. Absolutely. We sometimes confuse kindness with softness. We think being nice means avoiding difficult conversations. But that's not kindness, that's confusion. Real kindness is clarity. It's giving feedback that's honest but warm. It's telling someone the truth, but in a way that helps, not hurts. When your team feels cared for, they can handle honesty. They know feedback is coming from a good place. Here's a simple example. Sometimes an inspector on our team might miss a photo or the report might not be to our usual standard. When that happens, I call them not to lecture them, but to ask, hey, can you walk me through your process on XYZ? And almost every time they'll tell me the correct process. They already know it. So then I'll say, okay, here's what's happened with this report. Why do you think it went differently? And they usually realize for themselves that they've cut a corner or they've rushed. That reflection sticks. It's accountability, but delivered with care and it works. That's where the care factor comes in. You can't fake care. Your team can tell instantly if you genuinely care about them or if you're just ticking a box. It's in your tone, your consistency, and your follow-through. In our team, care shows up in lots of little ways, celebrating birthdays, work anniversaries, when someone completes their property management course, or even just checking in when someone seems a bit quiet. Sometimes our office team will come to me and say, Hey, I think so-and-so is having a tough week this week. And I will send them a quick message or a vote voice note just to check in and make sure they're okay. It takes 20 seconds of my time, but it tells them that they matter. And that's where culture actually lives. It's in those quiet, unseen moments. One of the things I'm proudest of is how much growth we've seen within the team. We've had people come back to Property Assist multiple times. The latest one was three times, which says a lot about the culture we've built. Bonnie's story is one of my favorites. She was an inspector for just six weeks before we asked her to step into the training role. She was nervous, but we told her there was no pressure. If she didn't like it, didn't enjoy it, she could go back to being an inspector. A year later, she's been flying across the country training our new inspectors over on the East Coast, and she is thriving. Then there's Charmaine. She started as an inspector, moved into admin, then into management, and has been managing our team for the last two years. And last year, she won the REB Administrator of the Year award over in Sydney. That was such a proud moment, not just for her, but for all of us. And then there's Tanika. She started as fill-in during Charmaine's maternity leave and is now the go-to person for everything in our business. She knows everything. These people who've grown with the business, and the business has grown because of them. That's what happens when you invest in your people. They invest right back. Now, I want to touch on something that took me a while to learn. Letting go. When I first started Property Assist, I did absolutely everything. Within five months, I was fully booked, working from 5 a.m. in the morning to midnight, doing inspections out on the road all day and then typing reports all night. It was exciting but exhausting, obviously. And one night I remember thinking, if I keep going like this, nothing will ever change, and I'm going to be stuck this way. That was the turning point for me. I realized the only way to grow was to bring someone else in and trust them to do the job well. And since then, I've had that realization a few times. When I was trying to train staff while answering the phones, rescheduling work, I wasn't training anyone properly. I became impatient and short, and I didn't like the person I was becoming in that space. So I hired a trainer. And later I found myself managing too many people. I realized the same thing. The business needed me leading from a higher level of operations, not in the day-to-day. Each time I let go, someone else stepped up. And honestly, they often did it better than I would have done. If you're a leader who struggles to delegate or trust your team, here's my advice: start small. Give someone one thing to own. Even if they do it differently to you, if the outcome's the same or even better, celebrate that. They might take a different road, but if you reach the same destination, that's all that matters. And make sure you spend your time doing what you love and what you're good at. For me, that's people and growth. I've never been great with numbers. So I outsourced my bookkeeping right from the start. It would stress me out endlessly if I tried to do it myself. And that's not where I add value. So I focus on what lights me up and delegate what doesn't. That's how you find flow, freedom, and peace as a leader. So when I say a happy team leads to growth, I don't just mean for them. It's for you too. Because when your team is happy and capable, you get to step out of the chaos and lead with purpose. You stop doing everything and you start empowering everyone. If you want to take something practical away from this chat, this is what I would say. Listen before you lead. Ask questions like what would make your role feel lighter? You'll be surprised what you learn. Lighten the load. Remove friction. Whether that's clunky systems, admin bottlenecks, or unclear expectations, clean them up so your team can breathe. And lead with presence. Even in a remote team, your presence matters. Be visible, send that message, celebrate that win. Those little things build connection. And if you want a challenge this week, ask your team that one simple question. What would make your role feel lighter? Then act on one thing they tell you. Even one small change can completely shift your team's energy. Because culture isn't built once, it's built every single day. A happy team doesn't make your business smoother, it makes it stronger. It gives you freedom, it gives your people pride, and it gives everyone a reason to stay. Thanks so much for listening. And I hope this inspires you to lead with both clarity and care. Because when your team's happy, everyone grows, including you. Thanks again for being here. I'm Shannon Welch from Property Assist, and I hope you have the most amazing week ahead.