“How am I doing?” Those of you living in New York City might remember when Mayor Koch used to ask his constituents that question. Asking that question with your business is very powerful because it tells your staff and your clients that they matter.
That they matter is an understatement. First of all, exceeding your client’s expectations is essential to creating loyal clients and increasing your client base. In order to have loyal clients you need to have an engaged and loyal team and you need to know that everyone is working.
"You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” This well-known line was uttered by Jack Nicholson in the move, A Few Good Men. Do you think is a little difficult to hear the hard truth? That is the case with some organizations including real estate teams. It is just not comfortable is it?
It is easier for teams with retention problems, for example, to focus on compensation issues. But, according to Gallup only around 30% of employees are engaged at work. That's is most likely the case as well with real estate agents as well.
But it is more than that. Lack of engagement can cause lack of alignment of everyone with the organization or team's vision, values, and mission. For example, if asked, "from your perspective what are three team goals," how many could answer? Or, what action would you take if your members were to give a negative answer to the statement, “Here, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?”
How do we fix this? We can’t fix it by taking a cookie cutter approach. Instead we must listen and ask, “How are we doing?” Then we must act remembering that the diversity of our people which includes gender, culture and the different generations, does not have a simple solution.
Then, with regard to clients, it is easier to think all is well because there are not many complaints? Not so. What about those who never come back? We must actively reach out continuously and sample their opinion.
Is your team suffering from a retention challenge? This can be costly. When you consider recruiting and training, lost client service, lost productivity, and lost morale in others who are left, the cost is staggering. An engaged agent or employee becomes more valuable as he or she grows. In addition, high-performing teams have loyal clients because they have loyal members.
If you are the managing broker or a CEO, you need to have an engagement strategy. This should be a line item on your P&L. The strategy should include careful selection to see that a person is put in a place where he or she has a chance to excel, along with a continual assessment and development plan.
Is it time to have a strategic staff assessment and development plan in place? For a similar post on our web site see ACKNOWLEDGING THE TRUTH IS THE FIRST STEP TO IMPROVEMENT.
Would you like to start a D.I.AL.O.G. with your team?
Contact Us for a Free Consultation
or call 914-953-4458.
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