5 Ways to Recruit and Retain Top Real Estate Agents

In today’s real estate market, the more agents a brokerage has on its roster, the more chances it has to bring in revenue. With that said, it’s equally as important to hire the right mix of agents; however, learning how to recruit top real estate talent takes a bit of practice.  After all, efforts will have gone to waste if your agents aren’t able to contribute to your business goals.

In order to reach top producing agents, recruiters need to show potential candidates how working with their brokerage will further propel their real estate careers. By supporting an agent’s brand, providing competitive industry tools, and investing in positive and collaborative workplace culture, brokerages can position themselves as indispensable to their agents.

Here are some best recruiting practices to recruit and retain talented agents.

Be proactive

It happens too often.  Brokers are forced to recruit on short notice when an existing agent leaves.  In this case, the pool of candidates is limited to whoever happens to be looking for a new position at the time. Instead of compromising standards, it’s best to remain proactive and seek and cultivate candidates before they even consider leaving their current team. Start the search early, build a relationship and look for those up-and-coming agents as well as the seasoned agent looking to make a change.

Offer Training Programs

With more than 30 years of experience working in the Toronto real estate industry, John Lusink creates recruiting and retention programs and also helps to build skilled management teams.  At his company, Right at Home Realty Inc., new team members are encouraged to take advantage of the employee resources that the company offers, including ongoing training, excellent support staff, and a welcoming and open office environment.

John believes that culture fit is an important focus when recruiting experienced agents. How an agent blends in with your company culture is not only a good sign of how they will perform but also how long they will stay.

Start a mentorship program

As in any business, there’s no substitution for great leadership.  Take advantage of the programs that other brokerages may not offer, such as mentorship.  This type of cross-training program can pair new agents with senior agents on your team.  Not only will it benefit freshman agents who are eager to learn the ins and outs of your brokerage, but it will help seasoned agents invest in their personal growth. This factor is the one that makes the difference for McGraw Realtors and all the members of its professional team.

Get personal

Recruiting talent is not only about getting the candidate through the door, it is also about retaining that person for the long haul.  This begins with building rapport with a candidate on a more personal level.

Establishing a relationship built on trust is imperative to a high retention rate.  As the saying goes, “you’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself”. Rather than a traditional employer-to-employee relationship, the real estate industry is unique in that each Realtor is a Solo-preneur who requires a value-based brokerage to support and help them build a business for the long term. Getting to know our Realtors on a more personal basis is key to creating a culture of respect, trust, and high integrity.

Think beyond job recruiting sites

Recruiting sites like LinkedIn or Monster offer a pool of prospective candidates right at your fingertips.  However, the competition is fierce on these popular social channels, so it may be beneficial to look at less conventional ways of recruitment.  One way of thinking outside the box is to create a short video featuring testimonials from some of your long-standing agents and customers and post it on social media.

In order to convince real estate agents that your business, culture, and brand are worth their time, it’s important to get your message out into the community.  Whatever that message is, promote it, and be sure to showcase that one thing that makes you unique.  Follow these steps and your brokerage will far excel the competition.