Recruiting

It’s always amazing to me to read quotes, like the one below, from ancient geniuses like Aristotle and to realize how many ideas remain true throughout all of time. Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle already understood that systems inherently help groups of people to reach their goals more quickly, more easily and with less stress. He wrote:

“Systems are inherently more efficient than non systems” – Aristotle

As a real estate leader, think about all of the systems that you employ on a daily basis.

a.    Recruiting
b.    Interviewing
c.    Retention
d.    Marketing
e.    Finance
f.     Online services
g.    Lead generation
h.    Referrals
i.     Legal
j.     Advertising
k.    Communications
l.     Public relations
m.   Seller services
n.    Buyer services
o.    Coaching

This list goes on forever, so complete it for yourself as it relates to your specific situation.

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Posted by Wendy Forsythe

1. Use competitors’ recruiting letters as part of your interview package.

Last week during the RISMedia Leadership Conference in NYC, I spoke on a panel about recruiting. A member of the audience asked the panel what she should do when her agents bring her copies of letters they are getting from other brokerages asking them to join their offices. Many of you have probably told agents to use those letters on their listing presentations as testimonials. Why not take that advice and use the letters as part of your presentation when interviewing potential new agents to join your office? Nothing demonstrates your ability to develop successful agents more clearly than the desire of your competitors to have your agents work at their offices! Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Wendy Forsythe

Tomorrow, I’m speaking at RISMedia’s 19th Annual Leadership Conference in New York City. The topic is: “Weeding Out Bad Recruits: 5 Ways to Recruit More Effectively.” I think we need to focus more on weeding out bad recruiters then recruits.

Here are my thoughts on 5 Ways to Recruit More Effectively. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Wendy Forsythe

I was speaking with a broker the other day who was sharing his frustrations with attracting and retaining “younger” agents. It was his opinion that Gen Y and Gen X candidates don’t understand what it takes to be successful in our industry and aren’t willing to work hard. In his opinion, these behavior traits combined with the current market conditions has led him to the conclusion that recruiting younger agents isn’t worth the effort. He then proceeded to ask me what I thought of his conclusions.

I disagreed.

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Posted by Wendy Forsythe

Whenever I meet with a manager or broker to discuss their growth plans and objectives, I always ask what their talent attraction strategy is. I often get a blank or somewhat confused look. Most brokers and managers are former agents, and one thing we are not known for is our diligent business planning and strategizing. So, it is no surprise that we carry that trait over into our growth plans when we become managers or brokers.

Here are some questions I ask to get them thinking: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Wendy Forsythe 

Question: Do you want to recruit agents to your office, or do you want to attract the best possible talent to your organization?

I’d debate the view point that you want to attract the best possible talent to your organization. We’ve been telling each other for years that this is a relationship business and you don’t recruit relationships–you attract and build them.

In preparation for our launch, we’ve been developing our talent attraction and selection programs (what is normally called “recruiting”). One component of this is videos for the “Careers” section of our consumer Web site. We’ve created three different personas representing different people at different life stages, who either are currently in real estate or considering a career in real estate. Check out McKinsey & Company to see a great careers site.

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I recently wrote an article about recruiting for RISMedia that appears in the March edition. What’s interesting is that the same principles that applied 15 years ago when I was personally recruiting and retaining agents still apply today. Of course, technology plays more of a role now - it is easier to find people and stay in touch with sites such as Linkedin and Facebook. Electronic advertising on the various career sites has, for the most part, replaced newspaper ads, and keeping in touch via email seems to be what everyone prefers. In the article, I caution the reader not to rely too heavily on technology, as personal contact and handwritten notes create a stronger emotional bond. And we all know that real estate is a very emotional industry (and business) …

As I was writing the article, a little bit of  nostalgia hit me.  I started thinking about people like Carol Johnston, who, for many years, has held an annual recruiting conference … I started attending back in the early ’90s and met people like Lou Izzo from Hunt ERA  who was, and still is, a master recruiter. Life  and recruiting seemed less complicated back then.

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