Commentary by Todd Shyiak
RISMEDIA, Sept. 11, 2008-The dramatic change in the real estate market is making it more difficult for some brokers to maintain profitability. Decreased revenue per agent and a growing number of empty desks are resulting in a challenging business environment. It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Some brokers are viewing the current market conditions as an opportunity to grow market share and lay the foundation for future profitability. For these brokers recruiting experienced agents is more important than ever before.
Recruiting experienced agents has an immediate and positive impact to the bottom line. It also adds to the excitement level in an office, which can help with retention. The ability to effectively identify and attract experienced agents is more than a tactical advantage – in a highly competitive market, it is a core capability that will drive the success of a brokerage business for the long term.
So how does a broker execute a successful recruiting strategy while maintaining and managing all other aspects of their business? For some larger brokers, it requires a sizable investment in dedicated recruiting staff and technology. For others, recruiting is a priority that requires juggling blocks of time to focus on the effort themselves. And while this can work, it also means time away from their most important investment – their own agents.
There is now a third option; Recruiting Process Outsourcing (RPO) by Cogent Step Recruiting. RPO is a professional outsourced option that provides dedicated recruiting professionals to Brokers; applying proven process driven recruiting strategies with the experience, resources and expertise to meet a Broker’s recruiting demands today and long term.
Working as an extension of the broker’s own team, these experienced recruiters would provide the efficiencies of both scale and scope to connect with and close more experienced agents, at a lower cost.
Cogent Step Recruiting is at the forefront of Recruitment Process Outsourcing for the real estate industry. In the next 3 months, RISMedia readers will be able to follow the progress of a pilot program that Cogent Step is running with Zephyr Real Estate to prove out the concepts of RPO for the Real Estate industry.
Zephyr Real Estate is a highly respected firm with 200+ Agents in 7 offices throughout San Francisco. With confidence in their brand and the in the future of the real estate market, Zephyr is determined to grow their market share and have placed a high priority in recruiting the highest value Agents – the experienced and producing professionals who are committed to their career in Real Estate.
Todd Shyiak is the President of Cogent Step Recruiting.
For more information, visit www.CogentStep.com.
