This May marks Inman’s sixth annual Agent Appreciation Month. Look for profiles of top producers, opinions on the current state of the industry and tangible takeaways you can implement in your career today. Plus, the prestigious Future Leaders of Real Estate return this month, too.
In the highly competitive real estate industry, agents are the brand ambassadors of a brokerage. Many put in long hours, navigate ever-changing markets and work tirelessly at building relationships that keep clients — and revenue — coming into the business. And while our industry is ever-changing, agent appreciation in many cases has stuck to a few tried-and-true methods, like ballroom banquets, trophies for top sales and year-end rankings.
While the intention behind these methods is sound, we’re hearing from today’s agents that they are looking for more. In the words of Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Agents want to feel seen, valued, supported and celebrated in ways that align with their values and workstyles. They want to feel like their company views them as an asset, recognizes the value they bring and dedicates itself to investing in their professional development.
As brokerages across the country face recruitment and retention challenges, modernizing appreciation can be a critical component to building the future of your brand. Brokerages need to examine their entire agent experience through their lifecycle with the company and evaluate what is working well. In a competitive landscape, agents want to “thrive” and not just “survive.”
Rewriting the traditional playbook
While the traditional recognition programs can be meaningful for agents, they do not accurately reflect the day-to-day effort and impact agents make throughout the year. And when our team is recruiting new talent, these types of programs are not resonating with potential employees.
Recognition is one of the top drivers of workplace satisfaction and retention. Research from Workhuman and Gallup found that employees who receive recognition are 45 percent less likely to leave their jobs. In our industry, where turnover is often the rule rather than the exception, an agent feeling valued by their brokerage could be a deciding factor between loyalty and leaving.
At First Team, we have enhanced our recognition programs to incorporate more immersive, experience-driven rewards in addition to our annual celebrations. As part of our Behind the Agent philosophy, we provide our agents with the tools, training and support they need to truly become the CEO of their businesses and become strategic advisors to their clients.
We work closely with our agents to create unique, integrated business growth plans and marketing strategies that will help them reach their individual career goals. We support their business development with mastermind sessions, coaching, a best-in-class tech stack and an in-house team of professionals that help them grow their market share and revenue.
Agent appreciation is about creating a company culture where your agents feel respected, valued and invested in. They will be more motivated to stay, succeed and advocate for your company if they know that their contributions are being seen and appreciated, their voices are being heard, and that the brokerage is dedicated to helping them succeed.
Recognition to retention
It is no secret that top real estate talent is constantly being courted; thus, a strong agent appreciation strategy can be an important retention tool. When agents feel valued, they are more likely to stay loyal to the brokerage, refer others to join your team and perform to their highest abilities. On the flip side, if that appreciation feels outdated or transactional, it can lead to resentment and attrition.
Your brokerage’s success is not built in award ceremonies or company-branded swag. It is built on your agents feeling that they are sincerely valued and supported to reach their individual goals.
An investment in your brokerage’s future
If you want to remain competitive in the ever-evolving real estate landscape, one of the most effective steps you can take is rethinking the way you are supporting and celebrating those who are driving your business forward. By reimagining agent appreciation programs, brokerages can create deeper engagement, stronger loyalty and a culture that attracts and retains top talent.
Lauren Henss, is the VP. Marketing & Strategic Initiatives for First Team. You can connect with her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
