ADVERTISEMENT

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®








 Hiring Personnel
Assessing Personnel Needs


  


Assessing Personnel Needs

Advanced-Beyond Job Descriptions: Job Matching for Real Estate Sales

Recruitment Planning

Advanced: What Top Performers Want from You

Recruiting Salespeople

Advanced: Tips for Recruiting the Seasoned Professional

Recruiting Support Personnel

Advanced: The Family and Medical Leave Act

The Interviewing Process

Advanced: Behavioral Interviewing

Tips for Selecting a Psychological Test

Structuring Compensation

Advanced: Compensation Tips for Management Personnel 		  Matching the right person to the right job is key to successful hiring. So before you place the first "help wanted" ad, spend time decided who, what, and how many associates and support staff you need.

What Each Salesperson Costs You

Every new hire has an incremental cost, including:
  • Added management time. The time needed to managing a salesperson will require approximately 1/10th of your workday, according to John Cyr, Joan Sobeck, Laurel McAdams, Real Estate Brokerage, 5th edition.
  • Added support personnel.
  • Additional space. You may be able to get one more desk in the office you have now, but again, at some point you'll need to expand.
  • Added supplies and services. The cost of an extra phone line, staples, and copier paper may seem minor, but they will add up to increased overhead.

TIP: Be sure that the added revenues you estimate the new salesperson will produce make the hire worthwhile.

TIP: Once you have determined how much additional net income you will average by adding each salesperson, you can decide if you need to add staff to meet your company's income goals for the next year. Too often, real estate companies hire off the "fill the desk with a warm body" principle, says Herb Greenberg, author of How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer, McGraw Hill, 2001.



5 Factors That Will Affect Your Staffing Decisions

The size of your market and the number of competitors in the market will all determine how many associates your company can support. According to the 2001 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Member Profile, the average REALTOR® sells approximately $1,953,000 in real estate every year. Determining the value of your market's annual sales over the last two or three years, and your company's current or projected share of that market will help you determine how many salespeople it will take to handle the volume.
  • The number of people you can manage effectively in the time you plan to devote the management.
  • The experience level of your current staff.
  • The training you have to offer.
  • The financial resources you have; although there are some economies of scale in a larger company, it still costs more to maintain a large sales force.

Adapted from "Recruiting Sales Associates," 2nd edition, Ken Reyhons, CRB, Real Estate Brokerage Council, 1990



5 Questions to Ask Before Your Write a Job Descriptions

Analyze the position by asking:
  • What is the fundamental purpose of the job? Are you looking for someone to bring in listings, work with buyers, etc.?
  • What are the working relationships of this job, including supervisors and support staff?
  • Will the recruit work as an independent contractor or employee?
  • What are the minimum requirements for satisfactory performance? How many transactions do you expect the person to close in a year, etc.?
  • What level of experience and training do you want?



Job Description Basics

Outline a brief list of duties and activities you expect your sales associates to perform:
  • Handle floor time at the brokerage for a specified number of hours.
  • Hold open houses on weekends.
  • Develop marketing plans and advertising for listed properties.
  • Post listings regularly to the MLS and the company Web site.
  • Show properties to prospective buyers.
  • Prepare offers with appropriate terms and conditions.
  • Negotiate offers and counteroffers on behalf of clients.
  • Work with buyers to structure financing.
  • Assist clients in completing the paperwork necessary to close transactions.
  • Hold and maintain a real estate license in your state.

Advanced: Beyond Job Descriptions >