Managing a brokerage or overseeing a number of team members and agents inevitably has its challenges, and one trend we’re seeing among the ranks is emotional exhaustion. Amid the pandemic and a record-breaking year of market change, the real estate game has drastically changed. Multiple offers, hyper competition for listings and record transactions have everyone on an adrenaline high that, inevitably, ends in feeling stressed and overworked. While the positive outweighs the negative, the everlasting strain of exhaustion and burnout lingers.
So what can you do as a brokerage or team leader?
Be Engaged
Being engaged with agents, employees and team members has rarely been more important for brokerage leaders than it is now under the current conditions. As tasks and work accumulate, ask yourself, what processes have you put in place to alleviate the weight of the wave crashing to the shore before it hits?
Proactive leaders enforce practices that allow them to be two steps ahead. They think in terms of the agents’ needs through anticipation and preparedness. Being “ready” isn’t the only benefit of being proactive, it also serves as a trust barrier when things get heavy, and your agents and team members feel confident knowing that you have their back and are anticipating the changes at hand.
Fine-Tune The Process
When looking at internal processes, you might notice those that can and should be fine-tuned. Here are a few questions to get you started: What type of work is being overlooked, undervalued, or overly delegated? Should it be in your best interest to hire another team member to take some of the non-incoming producing work your agents do? Can the work be delegated to others in the department to ensure timeliness and quality of work?
From there, I encourage you to go even deeper. Talk to your agents about why they’re overwhelmed to determine what you can do to help them develop habits to better balance their time efficiently.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all package to fixing the lack of motivation in your brokerage, but starting with taking a big picture view of the operations and making small improvements is a critical step.
Lend Support
Even A-players rarely succeed in isolation from others. Lending support to team by offering your time creates valued trust. Additionally, clearly communicating expectations is an often-overlooked part of support. Offering feedback and guidance that show them you care and are invested in their success allows agents to feel valued and supported.
Losing employees and agents from work-related stress is real, but it’s a trend you can proactively address. Being present and having important conversations to assess how you can better support them will reduce burnout and retain quality talent.