Common Ground Property Services is very fortunate to be able to deliver a lot of jobs which provide us and our clients with very ‘high visual reward’ (HVR). Examples of HVR jobs are things such as house washing, pressure cleaning of concrete, or making over a badly neglected garden, where the client sees a dramatic change in the appearance of their property at the end of the project. HVR jobs always finish with you standing back at the end of the day and admiring your work, proud at what has been achieved. So is it possible for ‘low visual reward’ (LVR) work to be as satisfying as HVR work?

Although LVR work does not transform a property as dramatically as a HVR job can, it can be just as rewarding. When I take over the cleaning and gardening for a new body corporate client, it generally takes a few visits to get the property up to the Common Ground Property Services standard. This means a lot of elbow grease and in most cases a lot of HVR during the initial stages of the contract. However, once the property is up to standard the benefits of LVR work start to kick in.

LVR comes from keeping the small things under control, and can be something as simple as vacuuming residents’ door mats, removing a graffiti tag, or reattaching a loose fence paling. Our body corporate clients appreciate the small things we do, and although they may not always notice every little detail of Common Ground’s work, they know their complex is in good hands and in turn residents come to take more care when using their common areas.

However, the most powerful thing about LVR is how much energy it can give you. When a complex looks great at the end of each Common Ground visit, it gives me the energy to work harder and harder to keep improving the appearance of the property. So while HVR work is generally very physically demanding, LVR work can actually be energy giving (and far more sustainable in the long term).

So in a nutshell, there is definitely a real ‘wow factor’ to HVR work, but for me it is LVR work and the satisfaction of improving the quality of service week in week out that energizes me and keeps me passionate about what I do.