If your reputation is stellar, good things can come of it preceding you. On the flip side, horrible things can happen if you’ve burnt a few bridges while growing your real estate career and business. This quote sums it up:
“When introduced to an executive years ago, I said, “Your reputation precedes you.” He gave me a big grin and hearty “thank you” as he puffed out his chest – thus fulfilling his reputation for pomposity. I didn’t say it was a good reputation.” (Source)
Replace ‘executive’ with ‘pompous real estate broker’ and you’ve got the picture.
Having spent the past five years recruiting in real estate, and having interviewed hundreds of candidates, I can tell you which real estate companies or teams have come up over and over again as being plagued with a revolving door.
As we walk through the candidate’s resume and inquire on each employment experience and why she left one job for another, we start to hear a consistent theme surrounding certain employers. Now, if it was only one person, you could chalk it up to a bad experience. But when we speak to 10, 20 or 50 people who have all been through that revolving door and their answers to questions about their experiences are almost identical, then it’s safe to say that the employer is the problem.
Now, that’s all fine and dandy, you might think but why does it matter? Who cares if people don’t stay long in roles with certain realty offices. Well, it does matter. It matters because these employers often come to us in search of assistance, thanks to their struggles with employee retention. They, of course, blame the candidate and certainly don’t expose how many have been through the door in the past year or two.
The big question is: Should we help someone whose reputation not only precedes them but in fact runs out in front and slaps us squarely in the face?
The answer is both yes and no. We often begin the relationship with such employers by giving them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they don’t have training in how to hire the right person for the job. Perhaps they’ve hired out of desperation and not with a methodical assessment. Perhaps they are great people who lack the skills or experience to make the right hire.
After a few interactions, we can assess to see whether they are coachable. They have an opportunity to showcase who they really are before we move forward and that’s when we decide whether or not we should help them hire.
Some realtors/brokerages with a flawed reputation turned out to be really inexperienced in recruiting and quickly made changes based on our recommendations. They were professional, responsive, and willing to learn. Others exposed their vile nature of berating candidates with condescending comments of arrogance and devaluing everyone who works with them.
Again you ask, why does it matter to us, why not just help them hire, get paid and move along to the next client?
Simple. We value the candidates too. Why would I take someone who is happy and appreciated at their current place of employment and put them in a toxic environment where they will be forced to quit in 6 months time? Sure we’ve gotten paid, but the candidate would have paid the ultimate price.
“While reputation will naturally ebb and flow for many companies, it’s no coincidence that the most admired, year-after-year, also tend to be well managed. They minimize risk, foster growth and innovation, maximize financial returns, and engage and inspire employees.” (Same Source)
Employment is a major aspect of our lives. It is our livelihood and the foundation upon which we build our lives. To take that in jest or lightly is despicable. We certainly won’t, nor would we support and hire for anyone else who takes others’ employment as transactional.
What we do as recruiters is very important. We don’t take it lightly. It is a matter of principle. Simple as that.
