I have been asked to be on our company advisory committee in regards to Career Development (Recruting/Training/Retention). At this point our main focus is on retention and more specifically, retention of long term agents. They are asking us to come up with new ideas that the company could implement for this area. I would like to get your feedback on ideas that other companies are using and/or what other agents are looking for in a company.

We are aware that commission splits are always brought up but we are also not forgetting the current economic situation that we are all in so ideas that are cost effective yet attractive is our focus.

Perhaps you could start with surveying your current agents. Ask them if their needs are being met. If not, what needs improving? Where does management fall short? How can management make their business life easier? etc. That will give you an idea how to better serve your agents and what they are looking for. Based on the feedback and constructive criticism received, you can adjust accordingly.

The Brokerage is a business. The Agent is a business. When the dust settles it comes down to money. How to retain agents, give them more money in splits or cut their monthly fees.

Cheesecake Friday will only last so long.

It is like the corner store selling gas for a $1.00 per gallon more than anyone else and wondering why they are losing customers. So, they go and paint the store, wax the floors, put out a new and improved sign. Doesn't work......just lower the price of the gas. REODayton is right, at the end of the day, it comes down to the almighty dollar. I have been associated with a couple of different brokerages and they went through the same thing. Good luck.

While I agree that $$ pays a large part in retaining agents, that is not the only thing many look for when associating with a firm.

There is a natural progression in the agent career lifecycle that builds upon industry knowledge. Industry knowledge in this sense means learning how the business really works and what costs are involved in running a brokerage. You will be hard pressed to get experienced agents to stay with you if you (in their eyes) try to take advantage of them financially. There will always be those agents that like the "social" aspect of an office and stick with the broker because they like them... but it is more and more about $$ as previous posters say.

There are ways to retain agents without giving away the farm, and I can share with you some ideas via the PM system if you'd like. One is a unique bonus program that is tied to closings -- and another is making their job easier by making your firm the one consumers gravitate to in your market. Of course both these have costs, but they can be substantially less than giving up 10-15%-20% of your side of the commission.

Really it's about what you can provide to both the consumer and the agent, because the two go hand in hand and without one you don't have the other.

I agree that money talks but also, you should take an assessment of what your brokerage is doing for the agents versus your competition and how that is benefitting them, especially in their pocketbooks. Are you offering them more free, relative training that will raise their close rate? Does your brokerage own your local market and do consumers think of your brokerage first when they decide to buy or sell a home? You may think your agents already know all of this but sometimes it helps to point it out in a friendly way. If your agents are shopping other brokerages, make sure they are comparing all benefits, apples to apples.

Actually I think this is a very interesting topic. The brokerage I started with was a "major" franchise and really tried to sale the training card. However, thier "training" came from other agents within the company and they were not about to give away any of thier secrets and I hate to say they were not much of a teacher either. (nothing personal!) Looking back I could have gotten better training from our association or even online. And I will never believe that the majority of buyers nor sellers choose an agent soley because they are affiliated with a "major" franchise. Most here contract an agent, not a brokerage. But, they did have great coffee, company picnics, donuts, and a place to hide every once in awhile.

I agree that training by other agents is not the way to go. When I mentioned training I meant classes that may count towards Continuing Education credit or that would help get some sort of accreditation. There is nothing worse than training that you take time out for which just turns into a bunch of fluff with no substance.

In order to have good agent retention I do think you need more than just a good commission cut (although that is very important). All of my agents come from other brokerages and one of the things I noticed that was a big complaint was that they got no support from the broker or manager. Support can come in many different ways and GOOD training is one of them. So is returning calls from your agents quickly when they have a problem, especially an emergency contract situation. The broker/manager also needs to be on top of the industry and educated in order to be able to advise their agents correctly. It is all important.

Oli, the company I work for, eBrokerHouse has just released a new Broker View Plan that allows Brokers to offer our cutting edge web based management software to their entire office while you as the broker stay connected to each individual account for maximum office management capabilities.

With your broker account you will be able to track all of your office's production and sales and commission statistics, share office documents, and communicate with your agents.

The main advantage to this system is that each agent gets their own personal account to manage their entire business. Our key features include: management of all listings (regardless of type), buyers and buyer leads, tasks, contacts, BPOs, offers, accounting, sales statistics, commissions, showings, reporting, and much more. We also offer unlimited document storage and unlimited sub user accounts for assistants and other team members.

Offering a tool like this to your agents will lead to increased recruitment, retention, and production. Our current members rely heavily on this system to manage their business efficiently. eBrokerHouse actually saves your agents time and money and they love that.

Our prices are extremely affordable as well and can actually save your office and agents money on paper, ink, showing services,gasoline, etc. If you are interested in learning more shoot me an email to paul@ebrokerhouse.com and I will email you some materials that explains our system and features in more depth. or give us a call at 866-766-0344 to walk through a live demo.