Have Any of Your Staff Members Quit, But Still Keep Showing Up?

How many people in your organization have quit but keep showing up? I’m talking about disengaged and unmotivated internal members who clock in and clock out on their work schedule but have mentally checked out regarding the vision and their role in your real estate office? Whose fault is it, and what are you doing about it?

A recent survey of thousands of North American employees revealed 25% admitted that the only reason they show up at work is for their paycheck. They had no genuine interest in their job, the customers, their team, or the company’s overarching vision. 

As the expression goes, “one bad apple can spoil the bunch”, and if those apples are not contributing to the objectives of your company, then they are dragging your real estate business down. It’s not the people who quit and leave who hurt you; it’s the ones who quit and stay.

You need to assess how many of those individuals are just dead weight and how many of them negatively affect the company culture with toxic traits. Either type of individual, dead weight, or toxic individuals are sucking the energy and morale out of your business. Once you have identified if this applies to your business, you need to ask yourself these questions “Are there factors in my business that are attracting dead weight instead of top tier talent?” “Have I created an unhealthy business environment where people who don’t care can still work in the company?”

Another scenario is that you’ve hired people who have no chance of success in a tight and highly competitive labor market. This could be sales agents, deal administrators and office managers. You’ve settled for second, third, and fourth best and it’s slowly killing you. You justify it by telling yourself, “You just can’t find good people anymore!” The reality is that even in a tight labour market, the best people still have to work for a company, it’s just you have to deserve them. 

To attract top-tier talent in your real estate business, you NEED to have a top-tier real estate business. The best talent in the real estate industry are attracted to the best teams and brokerages, and they won’t necessarily wait for a job vacancy in your organization to let it be known they are interested in working for your company.  Sales agents join and leave brokerages all the time for a better opportunity, your real estate business should exude a presence where the best talent comes to you, resume in hand, looking for that opportunity. 

Another scenario is that your hiring process is not strong enough to filter out the dead weight and poor performers. Do you have a clear understanding of the type of individual you are looking for to fulfill your customer promise as well as contribute to a positive working environment? Are you hiring a sales team just to add more headshots to your website? Are you looking for people who are smart, hungry and adaptable to the fluctuations of the market? Your job as a decision marker of your team or brokerage is to attract the most capable people you can find and then to focus on empowering them to be extraordinary. 

Moreover, do you hire after one interview? You should have a multi-interview process with different formats to measure experience, performance, and personality. Is this in place in your hiring process? Do you check references, ask the right questions and receive clear and honest answers? Does their motivation to work for your real estate team or brokerage and seize the opportunity shine through?

Here’s a simple but effective way to get clear of your hiring strategy: sit down with the best and trusted minds in your company and ask yourself these two crucial questions.

What kind of real estate team or brokerage do the best people want to work for? Describe how you would attract that talent, how they would be inspired by working for you, would their pay, commision or rewards be attractive, and would they have the ability to be mentored and groomed so they can maximize their potential. Factor in your company’s higher purpose and how that can be engaging for top tier talent. Your company’s higher purpose should uplift the human condition in a positive and significant way. 

What must we do to become the kind of real estate company that we just described? Is there a gap between what your brand currently represents to top talent versus what your brand needs to represent to attract top talent? What do you need to fix, create or change to empower your company as a more attractive place to work? Remember, you can’t be a world-class real estate company without being a world-class employer.

When you attain the best talent, don’t underestimate the impact of a good onboarding experience.

When you bring on top talent to your company, do you have a ‘Welcome to Our Team’ package that includes the company history, values, purpose, the impact on your customers’ lives, and the community your company serves? It’s important to give them a reason to be engaged and proud to work in your company from day one. (Coach Ken clients have a very robust customizable onboarding tool)

The ‘Welcome to Our Team’ package should also include an overview of your Benefits Package as well as policies, rules, and a clear explanation as to why you have them. A good ‘Welcome Our Team’ package should include at least 200 high-quality business cards because business cards are an inexpensive way to honour the new employee. 

You should also make sure they feel welcomed, ensure they feel comfortable on their first day in a new environment, and let them know how excited you are to have them on your team. A good way to do this is to send a broadcast email to your full team, including the new recruit introducing the new recruit and asking for a warm welcome.

Your new recruit must be partnered with an experienced staff member who can answer any question they may have and onboard them with their duties, internal tools, company culture, and especially how their contribution is an essential piece towards the company vision. 

Are the expectations of performance clearly communicated? Does your company acknowledge and celebrate individual and team performance? Are employees fairly and well compensated for their achievements and initiative? A critical aspect of maximizing your talent is to have continual training in place to develop and encourage staff to be better at what they do so they can perform on a higher level and take on more responsibility.

Action Steps

Identify which employees have quit but keep showing up to work every day. Then, embrace the two important questions above, and are you willing to lift your company with a presence that attracts the best talent in the industry or your local market?

Refine your recruitment onboarding process. Can you make it more welcoming, smooth, and more streamlined so that every new member not only has a very clear idea of their purpose and duties but is proud to work at your company from day one? 

And then, start recruiting the top talent your business was meant to attract and retain!

At Coach Ken International, we have a robust onboarding system that ensures new talent seamlessly integrates within your real estate organization and maximizes their full potential. Book a complimentary consultation to learn more.