About a month ago I was speaking with one of my recruiters about her progress, specifically as it related to working with her managers to recruit new agents. In that conversation she expressed some frustration that I have heard from other recruiters. Her frustration stemmed from some of her managers lack of action with the candidates she was sending for interviews. She told me that her managers don’t have the time to deal with new agent candidates. They understand that recruiting is a top priority but they are too busy, and I quote…”putting out fires.”
Paradigm shift alert….recruiting is a fire. Recruiting is a flame that needs constant attention. The reality is all around you.
In “Highlights from the 2013 NAR Member Profile” it was reported that the median age of experienced agents has increased to 57. If you are not tending the fire to backfill the inevitable departure of the aging agent population you are seriously compromising your own profitability and that of the company at large.
If the Managers know all of this, why do they not prioritize recruiting? Is it because they simply do not like it or feel uncomfortable with the tasks associated with recruiting? Is it because they don’t have any formal system/process to follow and feel lost in this endeavor? Are they lacking motivation?
Let’s start with some motivational math. Todd Shylak posted and article,” Recruit Today, Profit Tomorrow,” that succinctly points to the financial motivation of recruiting.
“Have you ever taken the time to truly figure out what it would mean to your bottom line if you recruit? Most, I daresay, haven’t. The pressure to recruit agents is part of everyday life for a real estate broker; however, the knowledge of what it actually means to your profits, isn’t.
Let’s look at this further. If every experienced and productive agent you recruit adds, on average, between $10,000 and $25,000 to your bottom line, adding five agents will boost your bottom line by between $50,000 and $125,000 in year one.
Over the course of three years, those same five agents will add $150,000 to $375,000 to your business, while at the same time creating excitement and momentum in your office.”
While these numbers are somewhat outdated, I think you get the picture. So, we have some motivation…now do we have a comfortable system to execute? In my next blog, I will discuss more on the topic of a specific recruiting strategy that delineates a recruiting process and the reasons behind the tasks.
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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .
