Clan Gordon staff spotlight – Dominika Kreft, Compliance Manager
Dominika Kreft started at Clan Gordon in August 2021. Prior to that, she had worked in hospitality and customer support roles.
As Compliance Manager, Dominika is the heartbeat of the Clan Gordon engine room. Her work encompasses administrative tasks related to many different areas of the business, such as accounts and compliance.
She is responsible for managing the accounts inbox, saving and processing invoices from contractors and dealing with any other enquiries that come from contractors. In terms of compliance, she collates safety certificates on a monthly basis. Once they have been gathered, Dominika looks through them, making sure all Clan Gordon’s landlords are compliant.
On top of that, she conducts viewings to assist the lettings team and carries out key audits, making sure all keys are returned by contractors on time.
Her list of responsibilities also includes managing interim bills between tenancies and the post that comes to the office. She is also responsible for making sure everything is paid for landlords, including council tax and utility bills.
Variety is the spice of Dominika’s life
It’s a long task list but Dominika is not daunted by the scope of her work.
She said: “My role involves having excellent attention to detail because I go through documents, invoices and safety certificates on a daily basis.
I work a little bit with new business too so basically, I’m a bit of a cross-department collaborator. I answer phone enquiries but I’m mainly behind the scenes. I tend not to meet our landlords or tenants in person.”
Many of Dominika’s calls come from people who are looking for a property to rent. She advises them and helps them sign up for viewings from Clan Gordon’s marketing list.
She added: “If landlords contact me, that’s more likely to be about safety checks or an issue they’ve picked up, I might be able to assist them on that. And if contractors have any issues with their payments or their monthly statements, I can also assist them.
It can be challenging but I enjoy it a lot and it’s good to have a variety of different tasks. I like the collaboration, everyone is so supportive and helpful, so we really work together very well. There is no fear of asking questions. I am the only person who does this role, but I’m never stuck working by myself.”
Boomtime for Edinburgh
The Edinburgh rentals market is booming, which means downtime is a luxury Dominika seldom gets to enjoy.
The average rent in Edinburgh was £1,503 a month in the final quarter of 2023, that’s a year-on-year increase of almost 10 per cent and an 83 per cent hike on the same period in 2013. More than 80 per cent of all properties in the city are let within 28 days.
So why is Edinburgh so popular? Dominika said: “It’s been growing and growing all the time I’ve worked here, and I don’t see that changing. Edinburgh is a big destination for young professionals and students and it’s a great place to live.
Obviously, that has an impact on the market. With the price going up it makes it more difficult to find properties.
I rent here myself and I remember it was so much easier finding a property before the pandemic than it was later on. People come here and they really want to stay. And if they have that opportunity, they often choose to stay because it’s such a fantastic city.
There’s everything you need – apart from the weather.”
Quickfire questions…
What do you enjoy most about your job?
The collaborative style of working. We have a great team of helpful people who work very well together. It’s really nice to come to work and not stress about the environment. That’s such a big thing. The communication between us is really great. I feel like I’m acknowledged and treated as a valued member of the team as well, so that’s a great part of the job. I enjoy conducting the viewings as well. I love seeing how some people that I show a property to immediately fall in love with it.
How did you get into the business of property lettings?
I worked in hospitality for a few years, in restaurants and cafes. The job I had immediately before Clan Gordon was in customer support for a financial technical company. I was answering phone calls and supporting our customers. This is my first job in lettings - I think it’s a good industry to be in.
What sets Clan Gordon apart from its competitors?
I would say it’s our attention to customer service. We are a group of very friendly people who genuinely care about our tenants and our landlords and that’s very well reflected in our reviews. Empathy is very important in this industry. We’re also very fair, reasonable and we look at tenants and landlords in a very similar way. They’re both customers and thanks to them, we get to do what we do. Also, we make sure all our properties are up to a good standard so they’re matching the rent we’re asking for them.
What special skills do you require to do your job?
I need to be highly organised because throughout the month, I have many different tasks on my plate all with different deadlines. So, for example, I know instructing certificates need to be done in a certain amount of time throughout every month or I need to be posting invoices up to a certain day so that the contractors get paid on time. It’s just so easy to make mistakes when you have such an admin heavy job involving lots of documents and invoices. Empathy, as I’ve said, is crucial. When a landlord or tenant calls with a problem you have to feel like you’re in their shoes
What would you like to be doing in five years?
I envision myself just growing within the company, mastering more skills. I would like to get away a little bit from the admin part of the role and get out there to represent the company, showing properties. I would be totally happy staying here and just growing within the company.
Why are Clan Gordon employees so happy in their work?
I honestly think that, somehow, they’ve created this team of people who are genuinely nice, and I think that’s what really works well. We all genuinely care about what we do and about our customers. It’s very much a people industry, empathy is so important, relating to tenants and landlords is crucial. I think they know how to choose their employees here very, very carefully. When I applied for my job, I wasn’t really looking for any specific job, I was just looking to get out of the customer support role I was in. And I remember the Clan Gordon advert felt very personalised, they mentioned their values and it gave me this vibe that they really cared about getting the right person rather than getting someone who has 10 years of experience.
What’s been your best day at work?
Overall, I’d have to say Friday is always the best day because we finish early! The work/life balance here is great and probably contributes to everyone working hard and enjoying their job. But I just recently managed to complete my Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) certification. It took me a while, but I did it. It was such a nice thing to come to work and everyone was so full of congratulations. I just love that support you get, it’s honestly awesome, I cannot get over it. So that was my best day.