RISMEDIA, June 1, 2009-One of the significant contributors to short-term voluntary turnover (defined as less than 90 days) is mismatched expectations ofnew-hires. Exit interviews consistently find many applicants’ stated reason for short-term, voluntary turnover centers along the lines of: job demands were different than expected. Although in some instance this is nothing more than a handy excuse for quitting (e.g., actual found more desirable job, etc.) it occurs frequently enough that it must be a considered a legitimate and significant contributor to undesirable and controllable turnover.
Another often cited contributor to short-term turnover, concerns the manner in which new-hires are integrated into new positions – informed of job duties and expectations, educated/trained on critical job duties, etc. In short, how new hires are on-boarded into a new organization and potentially unfamiliar job responsibilities creates a major first impression of the company and new-hires own estimation of longer-term success. Agent hiring is no exception to the trend seen in other industries.
• Many Brokers prefer to highlight the potential for unlimited financial rewards rather than discuss average first year earnings across the industry/within the Brokerage.
• Likewise, the challenge of constantly prospecting for quality listings and time spent with potential buyers that lead nowhere are seldom major topics of discussion during recruitment activities.
• Similarly, the extent to which Agents are responsible for self-learning how to succeed is often addressed in a less than direct and candid manner – “being your own boss” always sounds more appealing than “sink-or-swim”, which is still the case at many Brokerages.
By their very nature, successful Brokers and Sales Managers have great sales skills. Unfortunately, those finely tuned skills often hamper successful recruitment and hiring efforts.
Companies with best-in-class recruitment and hiring processes view the process as a mutual selection process. Brokers need to obtain sufficient information on applicants’ skills and work orientation factors to believe the applicant has a reasonable chance of success in the career. Likewise, applicants need to know enough about the job to make an informed decision about their chances of success and likely satisfaction with the career. Although neither party is obliged or well served by highlighting every single potential negative or shortcoming that may be relevant, honest discussion of potential challenges needs to be an important part of any recruitment and selection processes.
Glen Jaffee is the vice president of AlignMark, Inc.For more than 30 years AlignMark has been a leading provider of innovative organizational effectiveness products and services. For more information about AccuRecruiter, Real Estate Simulator, or iNTELAGENT, visit www.alignmark.com. Glen Jaffee can be reached at gsjaffee@alignmark.com.
