Yes, Culture Does Matter. And It Starts With You

Is your real estate agency growing? Chances are, you’re focused on issues related to commissions, marketing/advertising, agent training and inventory, all of which affect your ability to recruit and keep good real estate agents. But one thing brokers often forget to invest in is the culture within their brokerage and how it affects both agent retention, real estate agent recruiting and productivity.

What keeps agents with an organization? Money is often named as a key motivator for retention. However, at the end of the day, it comes down to much more than that.  Feeling like they are part of something bigger than themselves, creating a positive environment that is both supportive and respectful and fostering a management team that is engaged and interested in the growth and success of its agents—just to name a few.  Money will work for a little while, but to retain people long-term, it’s important to pay attention to the culture you are creating for your office. When agents are motivated and happy, it extends to the experience their clients have, too.  And that’s good for business.

What Makes For Great Brokerage Culture?

Workplace culture is essentially the personality of your business: the environment, attitude, expectations, and ethics that you want to foster to achieve your business goals. While successful brokerages vary on the details, they all have one thing in common: a supportive and positive company culture.  And the more unique you make it, the harder it will be to find it somewhere else.

In a positive company culture, creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and teamwork are encouraged. And while all brokers aren’t Tony Robbins, you don’t have to be in order to make your business a place good agents want to be. When we coach our Weichert® franchise brokers, these are some of the things we help them focus on:

1. Training. Being able to offer courses, tips, best practices, or insights from your years of experience are enthusiastically welcomed, especially for new or younger agents.
2. People first. Recognizing achievements as well as celebrating the small personal milestones of folks in your brokerage helps to create a feeling that you are a team that cares about each other beyond the job. These personal relationships create the glue that keeps your team together.
3. Communication. Don’t hide in your ivory tower, communicate the business of your agency often, in both individual and group settings. Open communication is the heart of an empowered agent team. If they know where you are headed, they may just be able to help you get there.
4. Support. Even when you’re too busy to help, don’t ever make your agents feel that their requests are unimportant. Find the time to follow up with them, and make it clear that their success is your priority. In fact, it should be if you want to be successful.
5. Make it Fun. Just because it’s work, doesn’t mean your agents need to feel negative about doing it. Find ways to get people involved and encourage them to do the things they need to do to get the job done.

Your business benefits from the passion, productivity, and loyalty that results from the consistent application of these principles.

Creating a positive, fun and productive workplace doesn’t just happen by chance. There are many things a broker can do to foster a great environment that will create the kind of buzz that brings agents to your door.

If you have a vision for your success that includes listening, learning, and working differently than your competitors, you just might be next Weichert Franchise success story. Contact our team to learn more, visit https://www.weichertfranchise.com.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/yes-culture-matter-starts/