Whether we like it or not, a fact of the real estate industry is that agents switch brokerages. If you’re currently undergoing a loss of a team member, you’re not alone. It’s common in real estate, like most other industries, that team members move onto another company. Many small teams and brokerages do not have a Human Resources department to assist with employee transitions and will benefit from the list below.
Complete these 13 Employee Exit Tasks For Your Real Estate Brokerage
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Document, Document, Document
If the agent submitted a formal letter of resignation, submit said letter to your administrative assistant, HR team, or yourself. If the agent submitted a verbal resignation, be sure to provide confirmation of resignation in print. Be sure to ask which day will be their effective date of resignation and what day will be their final day of employment. This way your payroll for the agent’s last two weeks will be planned for ahead of time.
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Calculate Their Earnings
Whether your employee will cash out their vacation time will depend on your brokerage’s policies. The same goes for unpaid sick time. Be sure you, your Human Resources team, or one of your team members provides the agent proper allowance before their departure. -
Evaluate Pending Commissions
Pending offers should still go to the agent, unless of course the agent signed a contract outlining a policy that pending commissions go to the brokerage. However, don’t keep their listings hostage. If the agent has already closed a deal, allow them to keep their earnings. Put yourself in their shoes and how you’d feel if your manager didn’t allow you to keep your commission. -
Evaluate Why They Left
Many organizations drive out their top-producers. Some common pitfalls of brokerages include, changing compensation structure, management rules, current market conditions, and insufficient resources. It’s important that you understand why this agent left, otherwise you run the risk of driving away other agents for the same reason. -
Mark What’s Yours
Time and time again we hear of agents that are still disputing with their former brokerage which leads are rightfully theirs. Before you take on new agents, be sure to mark out territory rules, so agents know in advance which clients are rightfully theirs. -
Tell Your Team Members
Be open and honest with the rest of your team members. Keep in mind that some of the other agents may have relied on this team member for support. Be sensitive to those individuals who are affected by this agent’s exit. If anyone asks why they left, be sure to answer truthfully. It’s far worse to have team members talking behind your back about potentially leaving again. -
Prepare for a Transition Period
If this agent heads any important duties of the brokerage, be sure to have existing team members learn their responsibilities while the exiting agent is still there. -
Record Unfinished Projects
In any company, it’s important to record an exiting employee’s unfinished projects. This way your resources spend towards these unfinished projects is not wasted. -
Follow Up with Clients
Be sure to let all of the agent’s leads and clients (whom they’ve handed over to your brokerage) know that they are no longer with the company. Introduce these leads and clients to a new team member and apologize for any inconvenience. -
Update Points of Access
Even if you were close with this agent, still update all company passwords, websites, and alarm codes. Create a checklist of what to do when an agent leaves. This way your office will be protected under any circumstance. -
Collect Company Properties
Be sure you receive this agent’s electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets, phones, etc. If this agent had a physical office space with your team, be sure to collect any office supplies. -
End on a Good Note
If you liked the agent, consider letting them know they are welcome back if they wish to return. Even if this isn’t the case, it’s always wise to, still wish them well. Real estate is a small industry, and enemies can still affect your pipeline even out of the office. -
Recover Your Loss:
Whether or not your team needs to recuperate their losses will depend on whether or not they’ve lost a top producer. Some agents have farmed the same market for years and are therefore may seem irreplaceable. Others who have relied on online lead generation may be slightly easier to replace.
Zurple can generate both buyer and seller leads for your agents. We utilize hyper-local search engine marketing services to generate traffic in desired target markets. Unfortunately, Zurple is not available in every market. We choose only the most lucrative search terms for your desired markets, meaning other agents in your area may have purchased these terms. If you’re interested in learning more about Zurple’s lead generation software, check availability in the link below:
