The impact of agent churn has had a good workout in the media over the past few months courtesy of the flight of leading agents in the Industry.
And while it’s rare to see an exodus of such scale, churn has long been a problem in the real estate business. Retention of top performing agents can be critical to agency success so finding ways to keep them satisfied, happy and loyal is paramount.
The risk for many principals is that the profile of the lead agent can become bigger than the brand; if they go so too does much of the client base and income. Stifle them and they’ll move anyway to an agency where they may be promised greater success.
The real estate rule book on staff retention is not so very different to any small or large business and has changed over the years largely due to the changing nature of work. Full-time employment and with it staff loyalty is a precious commodity that has been traded off for less secure forms of work such as contracting and part-time jobs.
Yet in countless instances loyalty does indeed survive the challenges. When we look at the agents who consistently take out the top listing and income awards across the R&W network, longevity is one of their hallmarks.
David Frendo has notched up 10 years at Richardson & Wrench Rooty Hills and by any estimation is at the top of his game, always amongst the top 3 agents in the network by transactions with plenty of firsts to his name too.
He’s constantly fending off advances from rival agencies, some dangling offers good enough to give him pause for thought. But he’s chosen to stay put, in a nutshell because he enjoys where he’s at.
“People change jobs a lot in real estate and sales,” says David. “They think the grass is greener somewhere else and when they get there they find out that it’s not.”
Critical to David’s determination to stay put is the way in which Principal Roy Amery has structured the business to create an inclusive, friendly workplace that rewards performance and allows flexibility.
“I would rather work on a performance basis than a set wage and so would the other sales people here,” says David. “That makes a big difference so if I’m working back late I get the reward at the end of it.
“Being around a long time also means I get the flexibility I want when I want it. I don’t have set hours and that suits my lifestyle and the often long hours that the job demands.”
The fact that David has been able to progress his career within the one office is one of the strongest ties that binds him. There can be nothing more soul destroying than a job that looks to be leading nowhere with one day much the same as the next.
One of the pay-offs for performance and longevity has been that David’s career has been on a steady upward trajectory with opportunities to add to his skills base and take on more responsibility and leadership roles. He’s the sales manager with a team of relatively young agents who he has to keep motivated, has to maintain his own listing and sales volume and is also a qualified auctioneer.
His achievements are recognised within the office and the network. That people know him by name and reputation is a small but significant reinforcement of the benefits of resisting the temptation to go agency hopping.
The workplace itself can be deal-breaker for many employees particularly if there’s friction, unhappiness, sniping or just a general failure to think, act and work like a team. This is where the leader can make the difference often by promoting activities where all team members come together, whether it’s taking part in a charity event, a milestone achievement, a great sale or just because it’s Friday.
Frendo points R&W Rooty Hill’s 10-year anniversary lunch where every member of the team downed tools for several hours of good-hearted frivolity where the contribution of every staff member was acknowledged.
“It was good to get everyone together. That sort of thing makes a difference so that when they are in the office they have an incentive to work hard and something to aspire to.”