As a broker, it may often feel as though you have a to-do list that is a mile long and always growing. Sometimes this can lead to neglecting things which may not be as urgent, but which are equally important and integral to the big picture of your brokerage’s success. For many brokers, team building exercises are one of those things that typically falls through the cracks. Brokers may view their agents as silos who mostly work independently or for whom such comradery has limited value. As everyone knows, growing a brokerage has constant challenges related to recruitment and retention. The fact is that team building activities are beneficial to you, your agents, and your overall mission of growth. So finding a way to incorporate these activities can be an investment in achieving that.
Here are a few of the benefits you can expect when you choose to engage in regular team building exercises:
According to research conducted during Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Survey, having a good friend at work can boost one’s engagement level by up to 50%. (1) Team building helps to foster those relationships. Here are five ways to build winning chemistry amongst your agents through team building exercises. Team Building Exercise 1 – Share The Mission Of Your Brokerage Of course, everyone working in real estate is hoping to make a good living at it. Selling lots of big homes, being a million dollar agent is the dream of every serious real estate agent. But your mission as a broker and the person responsible for helping achieve this has to be better than just “make a lot of money”. Helping people buy the home of their dreams is a tremendously positive and impactful service you provide. Your mission statement should reflect this. It should be formal, and it should be a collaborative effort between you and your team that you revisit periodically. It should include things like how you will present yourself to clients and the community, how you will treat your clients and partners, and how you will delight and exceed expectations at every step of the process. A jointly developed, “feel good” mission for your brokerage creates team cohesion around a common set of principles beyond “make a lot of money”. Print it and post it proudly in your office. Team Building Exercise 2 – Develop And Incentivize Mentor Relationships As agents are new to real estate and new to your team, they are usually in search of guidance and support from more seasoned agents that can show them the ropes. As a broker, your success derives from your agents continuously growing both personally and professionally so that they can close more deals. The larger you grow, the less time you will have to be able to offer that coaching to your agents on a one-on-one basis. Mentorships are valuable among your agents as it will save you from having to mentor each member of the team yourself individually. Develop a program in which more successful and experienced agents mentor new team members, welcome them, and help them become acclimated to your policies, practices, and strategies. Team Building Exercise 3 – Have Weekly Meetings and Awards Even if you believe in fostering a strong sense of independence in your agents, it is wise to keep all of them grounded to your overall success as a team. One way to do this is to bring the team together regularly for a fun, open discussion with some monetary reward and recognition for significant achievements. You may want to present them with fun certificates for them to display in their offices, as well as, gift cards or cash. Holding these meetings puts you out front as their leader and keeps you connected to the team in a more personal, fun way. Plus, the positive incentive will further reinforce your agents’ productions levels and loyalty. Team Building Exercise 4 – Sponsor Non-Sales Group Activities Of course, sales are a top priority to both your agents and to you as their broker. Without sales, nobody eats. However, bonding together as a team should not always revolve around driving more sales. One way that you can encourage more engagement amongst your agents is to sponsor non-sales activities. Ideally, you would do this for teams that achieve something significant such as attracting the most new agents to the team, developing a new streamlining process, closing the most sales for the period, or successfully incorporating a new technology. When you do this, other teams within your brokerage will take note that you are supportive of such healthy practices and become motivated to work harder themselves. Team Building Exercise 5 – Become Volunteers and Role Models In addition to creating a positive public image for your brokerage, your agents working together for a greater good is a powerful shared experience. Try to choose a cause that is meaningful to your agents, and in line with your brokerage’s values, to increase their engagement and participation. If you hold monthly meetings, present your agents with two or three options that are all aligned with your mission and will require your team to work together cohesively to move the needle forward for the cause. Then have them vote on the cause that they would prefer to support. Send out reminders leading up to the event and generate additional interest on social media. Following each charitable event, be sure to thank your agents, share the difference that they made, and highlight the importance of working together as community role models, not just real estate professionals. A Worthwhile Investment In Your Growth Some of these team building exercises are easy and simple to do, while others require more time to plan. Whatever time you can spend here however, is well worth the investment. As your team grows stronger together, your brokerage will become a place everyone wants to be a part of, and no one wants to leave. At Weichert, we offer support to our affiliates so they can accomplish many of these types of activities and strengthen their brokerages. National and regional Awards & Recognition programs, workshops and conferences, inspiration and public relations support for community involvement and one-on-one coaching to develop solid recruiting and retention programs are just some of the many things we provide. Ours is a people-first philosophy based on building and cultivating relationships, whether it’s a client or an associate. For more information on how to support your team for growth and continue to move forward, call 877-567-3350 or visit weichertfranchise.com. Sources: (1)http://www.gallup.com/services/176708/state-american-workplace.aspx Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/5-fun-ways-to-build-winning-real-estate-team-chemistry/
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Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K Smith, author of The Wisdom of Teams, observes, “There is virtually no environment in which teams—if done right—can’t have a measurable impact on the performance of an organization.” This statement is true for your brokerage, too. Building and keeping a team of agents who share your brokerage mission is the starting place for building a culture of support and fostering a common drive for success. Your ability to communicate and lead is critical to motivating the team and getting positive results that are greater than the sum of their individual parts.
Recruit Right the First Time As you know, creating a solid team of both veteran and new agents is crucial to your brokerage. Skills, ethics and motivation are always important factors to consider, but you also need to determine if each agent has a vision and drive similar to yours. All it takes is one bad personality to ruin an otherwise good team of agents and lower your credibility. Take the time to recruit the right agents and you will have no regrets. Be a Leader Building a real estate agent team means you’re in charge; so be a leader. Believe in your agents and your purpose. You should know the strengths of all your agents to determine how you could best to use them to elevate the brokerage. Then encourage them to take on certain roles based on their strengths. This will help reinforce teamwork, while still allowing them to be independent. For instance, perhaps one of your agents is skilled in contract writing and agrees to teach a few classes a year for your agents or help new agents write their first contracts. Or maybe younger agents can provide older agents some social media tips and tricks to make them more comfortable using that medium. Mentor wisely, as being a leader means allowing everyone to grow personally and professionally, while encouraging them to care about each other’s well-being. Consistently Strengthen Your Brand While your agent team may continually change, there are a few things that should remain constant: all agents should align with your basic brokerage values, all should have clear goals and a path for success, and all should follow a level of consistency in how they represent your brokerage as a brand. Building a brand is especially important for the independent broker who does not have a recognized national brand to leverage. Let each agent know how to present your brand in the sales process and on listing appointments so that your competitive advantages are really highlighted. Consistency here will create local awareness and a strong brand for you and your agents to stand behind. Katzenbach and Smith believe that leaders must communicate the “purpose, meaning and performance implications of visions”. By sharing and articulating your goals to your team and asking for their help and participation, your agents will feel invested and empowered to achieve them. They will want the plan to succeed as much as you do. Benefit From a Culture of Sharing It’s a natural inclination for a team to want to win. Agents in the brokerage must share an eagerness to ask questions, try new approaches, learn from results and take responsibility for making change happen. They should be able to do this in a safe environment, where mistakes are not overly criticized, but treated as coaching opportunities, and new thinking is considered an asset. If your agents succeed and feel like they are an integral part of the growth and success of the organization, you’ll have happier agents, strengthen your bottom line and drive a positive perception of your brand in the office, which projects itself into the market. Who doesn’t want to work with a happy, successful office? Create a Shared Purpose. Celebrate Successes. Do more with your current agents and hire new agents with your vision in mind. Everyone has a strength. Use those strengths for the betterment of the brokerage, while fostering an agent environment of communication and teamwork. Have actionable goals for agents to work toward as a team, such as a certain number of listings and a certain amount of open house traffic each month, so everyone gets a chance to contribute. Keep the individual in mind, too, to reward key players who go above-and-beyond to help other agents. For instance, those who bring in the most listings in a given month or close the most transactions. Continually lead in new ways that bring out the best from all agents. Together, agents can help each other overcome obstacles to growth while learning along the way. Build team of positive-thinking individual agents and by motivating each other, you’ll watch as they gain prosperity and happiness, while your brokerage triumphs in productivity. Team Dynamics Can Be Tough To Get Right You know how to run your business, but everyone can use a little help sometimes. Having a resource that provides you with the systems and the coaching to help grow your business can make it easier and help you reach your goals faster. As a Weichert Affiliate, our mission is to see you succeed and our service teams are always there to help, so you never feel like you have to go it alone. That’s the power of We. That’s the power of Weichert. If you think your brokerage could benefit from becoming a Weichert franchise, call 877-746-8807 to learn more or go to weichertfranchise.com. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/real-estate-agent-recruiting/fostering-collaborative-spirit-in-your-brokerage/ |
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