Real estate brokerage success is greatly dependent upon strong leadership from sales managers, but the common practice of promoting experienced agents to office managers has not produced consistent, quality results. In response, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE), a non-franchise, invitation-only global residential real estate network, developed an exclusive assessment tool to identify and cultivate great leadership talent.
Assessment Details
The company conducted a performance benchmark study to create a resource tool exclusive to LeadingRE for identifying, selecting, coaching, and developing highly effective sales managers. LeadingRE assembled a focus group drawn from brokerages of all sizes across the Network to develop trait criteria, and the Harrison Group scrubbed the data collected, validated it, and generated the results.
The main criteria surround three key areas:
1. Culture/Core Values
2. People Development
3. Growth/Business Plan
LeadingRE assessed 300 sales managers at 60 companies from three performance group levels (100 each: high, medium, low). The results showed a significant relationship between 44 traits (out of a total of 175) to sales manager job performance. From those 44, 10 showed a significant linear correlation to performance success and are included as Essential Traits for sales managers:
- Wants Challenge
- Self-improvement
- Provides Direction
- Poised Achievement
- Receives Correction
- Systematic
- Tempo
- Enthusiastic
- Influencing
- Wants to Lead
Desirable Traits also were identified and incorporated into the assessment and development of suitability scores:
Score Fit to Manage Office
0-59% Unlikely
60-74% Possible
75-100% Probable
Brokers use the assessment tool as part of the selection process and also as a development/training tool. LeadingRE staff is trained to interpret and communicate assessment results and coaching to them, as well. The assessment is weighted as one-third of the Job Success Formula, interview as one-third, and resume as one-third.
Results
In less than three years, it has shifted the way LeadingRE brokers develop and recruit leadership talent. In 2016, utilization increased 40 percent over 2015. Approximately half utilized the tool to assess existing managers to gauge if the “right people are on the right bus and in the right seats” and to further develop their managers based on individual needs and preferences vs. general leadership skills training. Assessments utilized by the other half were for hiring and selection of new sales managers.
Increased hiring quality was evidenced by a 36 percent office production increase in one year after hire, and 60 percent reduction in attrition, lowering payroll costs by 31 percent.
