The real estate industry is one of the most competitive businesses for recruiting and retaining good REALTORS®. With today's technology of Zoom meetings and webinars, building and maintaining strong relationships with our agents is more challenging than ever before.
Focus on creating ways for your agents to grow with you, rather than grow away from you! Although it can be very challenging to create and build a culture and environment that illustrates how much REALTORS® are appreciated and valued in your brokerage, we need to determine a culture that works for both the agents and the brokerage.
An acronym that can best describe a successful brokerage that has high retention and productivity is CARE: Communication, Accountability, Respect and Empathy. These four characteristics can create the foundation of your brand and brokerage and set you on a course for creating an agent-centric brokerage.
One example of what it means to be an agent-centric brokerage is nurturing relationships with agents. New agents are more likely to switch brokerages faster than long term agents if they don't feel respected, appreciated, connected, and valued. Remember, value is not always measured in dollars! Acknowledge an agent's first transaction with an inexpensive award for recognition of a job well done, and it should also demonstrates how proud you are of their accomplishments.
We know that communication is a critical factor in any industry; creating commitment and loyalty to your brand will be measured by the form of communication you exercise and your actions towards your REALTORS®. That will determine the success of your goal. Show appreciation for their successes through personalized messages and notes. Always be sincere.
Holding your agents accountable by defining their expectations and their basic needs exhibits the type of culture you have created. Showing care and illustrating their value to you and your brokerage is the determining factor in gaining their respect and the respect you have for them. But more importantly, it lets the agents feel valued and important. Empathy focuses on how they feel by summarizing that you hear them and reinforces that you are listening, and you care. For example, "I understand you feel that way", or "What can we do to correct this misunderstanding"?
Most agents have six basic needs when choosing or staying at a brokerage: Caring, Understanding and Empathy, Fairness and Honesty, Options, Support, and Culture. These six basic needs create the value that the average agent is looking for. Value is a very difficult word to define or measure in today's real estate market.
To summarize, some ways to show agents that they are valuable and important include:
Always acknowledge their accomplishments;
Ask what their needs or concerns may be;
Try to resolve their issues in a timely fashion;
Show respect for their time;
Be responsive; and finally
Demonstrate a willingness to make changes within your brokerage or agents when necessary.
Transition back to a hybrid model for meetings and training workshops to accommodate everyone's comfort level because learning is the key to success. It is not always about money. When there is value, consistency, and trust, you will find loyalty!
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