Upward mobility and the opportunity for advancement are what keep employees motivated and productive. Are you in need of new, eager agents to join your team? Recruiting the best staff for your estate agency means offering competitive pay, good company morale, and plenty of opportunities. It’s all about retaining quality agents once you’ve hired them.
In this article, we’ll offer tips and tricks for recruiting the best staff for your estate agency so you can build a better brand and a reputation for being one of the best in the business.
Give the Agents What They Want
Not all agents are looking for the same thing in an agency. While some want competitive splits, others are more interested in training opportunities, trending technology tools, and company culture. Don’t use a one-size-fits-all approach to recruiting staff. Instead, once you find a desirable candidate, find out what they’re looking for in an agency and take it from there.
For example, millennial estate agents are usually interested in remote-work opportunities and mobile technology that allows them to close deals faster and more efficiently. A more experienced agent may want more competitive pay and a sense of community.
Remember, it’s not just you interviewing the candidates. Most agents will do plenty of research before contacting your agency. Attributes they look for include professionalism, a track record of success, leadership in the field, prestige, and a strong presence in the community and industry. Agents want to join a company that’s moving in the right direction and constantly bringing in new leads and business. Rentround makes it easy for agencies to market themselves and cultivate new leads, helping maintain a steady flow of clients and income.
Be Proactive
Always be on the lookout for attractive candidates and additions to your estate agency. The last thing you want is to lose an agent on short notice and have to hire someone at random or run your agency short-staffed. Instead of taking the “fly by the seat of your pants” approach to recruiting staff, be more proactive. This means building relationships within the industry and connecting with and cultivating relationships with agents long before they consider leaving their current position.
We aren’t suggesting you poach or steal agents from your competitors, but be sure that your agency’s name is at the top of their list if and when they consider a change. Keep the lines of communication and your door open – you never know when a qualified agent might just reach out.
Create a Diverse Work Environment
Estate agents come from all backgrounds and experience levels. Each brings their own unique personality, techniques, and strengths to the table. Create a diverse team with a myriad of skills and talents that attracts a wide range of clients. Some landlords or property owners prefer working with an agent who’s been in the business for a while and has a proven track record of success. Others are fine with using a less experienced but eager, young agent who’s just starting out. Having a diverse staff means more leads, more clients, and more closed deals.
Experienced agents that have been working in the industry for years have plenty of expertise and may even act as a mentor to newer, more inexperienced agents on your team. On the other hand, newly licensed agents are eager, motivated, and have a pulse on the current property market technology. Use all of these skill levels to your advantage and build a team that truly does it all.
Develop a Clearly Defined Company Culture
According to one study, nearly 50% of job seekers consider company culture as part of their search process. An impressive 88% also state that a positive company culture is vital for success. These are just a few reasons why your estate agency needs to create a positive, welcoming company culture if you want to attract and retain top-tier agents.
What makes this tip somewhat tricky is that company culture is an intangible concept but crucial for success. Regardless of how many agents are on your team, you should all work both independently and cohesively. The most lucrative and successful estate agencies have team members that share the same goals and values and are motivated by the same ideals.
Take your time when defining and establishing your company’s culture. Start by identifying your brand and mission. Then, focus on the type of agents you want to recruit and how your values appeal to their needs and personal goals. Once you’ve established a clear company culture, you can incorporate it into your recruitment efforts as an attractive feature of your agency. Staff and agents that fit your company’s culture will feel welcome, at home, and more confident about joining the team.
Offer Additional Perks and Benefits
In addition to a strong company culture, your agency needs to offer certain benefits. Qualified and talent agents will want a compensation package that fits their skill level. Things like flexible hours, tiered commission arrangements, and referral fees are all great incentives for agents to join your company.
Money talks. Which is why other financial benefit packages like a 401k or medical coverage can sweeten the deal for many qualified applicants. Some companies take a more unconventional route and offer customized benefits packages or personalized gifts. The key is making sure all of your employees know they’re valued, appreciated, and compensating them as such. Here, you can utilize the same techniques you used to craft your company culture. When you know what attracts and inspires talented estate agents, you can create perks and benefits that appeal to these preferences.
Utilize Technology
The world is run by technology, which is why using certain tech tools and features is a must for estante agencies looking to recruit new hires in today’s competitive market. This is especially true when attracting up-and-coming estate agents who are accustomed to the ease and convenience of using technology.
In today’s property market, agents, buyers, sellers, and property owners can use online software and apps to search and market properties, buy and sell, view and sign contracts, and more! Utilizing these tools at your agency is crucial for building, maintaining, and growing a successful team. Not only do these tools help agents stay productive, but also competitive as more and more estate agencies go the way of online and remote tech.
When making these technological upgrades, remember that some “old school” agents may prefer the traditional way of signing on the dotted line and shaking hands to close a deal. You don’t want to ostracize anyone on your team. Help agents unfamiliar with technology ease into the change by starting with some basic upgrades.
Signing documents using electronic signatures is the most common and easy-to-use property market tech tool. These documents allow buyers and sellers to make and close deals across the country and in different time zones. Not only are e-signatures growing in popularity, but cloud storage and management is a game-changer for estate agencies with file cabinets full of paperwork. If your agents are juggling multiple clients at once (as they should be), having important documents and files stored and organized in the cloud streamlines the process and promotes security and efficiency.
You can’t talk about estate agency tech tools without mentioning marketing. Listings with a few photographs and compelling descriptions are no longer sufficient. With the introduction of VR and AI, more agencies are providing video walkthroughs and live-feed showings of properties. This is especially popular in light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Estate agencies that utilize virtual tours, video clips, and social media, are viewed as more sophisticated and advanced. It also shows both agents and clients that you have a pulse on the industry and current market trends.
Put Your Best Foot Forward and Obtain Top-Tier Talent
When recruiting the best staff for your estate agency, it’s as much about selling yourself as it is assessing candidates. You need to create a company culture, benefits, and work environment that attracts top-tier talent. It’s also about keeping your eyes and ears open for agents with a good reputation. Make connections and keep the lines of communication open so these qualified agents consider you when choosing their next agency.
