It’s Not Always About Winning
I have come across way too many Relocation Directors throughout the years that rule their department like they are a drill sergeant. It’s all about ‘this is the way it is’ with no flexibility unless forced by their leaders to do so. I don’t really understand that mentality. We don’t have to constantly flex to show who the alpha dog is. Let’s face it, we have a lot of stakeholders in the business we manage and we owe it to all of them to be fair, even when the decision may not go our way.
While there are many situations that call for compromise, I have found that focusing on the best outcome for all parties is the way to go, not just the best outcome for me. Whether it was a requested agent situation or a mess up by a staff member or me on an important account, there was always a way to get through it. It’s easy to be inflexible. It causes everyone else around us to have to bend to meet our demands. But being inflexible can leave hard feelings that can carry over long after the situation at hand. Bad feelings can have long tentacles.
I learned a long time ago after many hairy problems with big transactions, high-end agents, and critically important clients, that leading with grace is the only alternative. Is it often unfair that we have to deal with many of these types of issues that arise, but it happens and will continue to happen due to no fault of our own. We have to step back and look at all sides of the situation as if we were not affected by the outcome. It was critical to me that the branch managers and my leadership knew I would be fair with whatever situation arose. Problem resolution takes patience and egos need to be set aside to arrive at the most palatable outcome. They had to trust me and I had to trust them. We were a team.
It IS a popularity contest
Just this last week I heard someone say ‘You know the relocation department is not always popular’, which I find perplexing. If the leader of the company-generated business lines takes the time to educate the leaders and managers about how the industry works, the responsibilities involved, and the contributions we make, then they should be wildly popular. Just the financial contribution alone that can offset other fixed expenses like marketing and legal should be enough to gain favor. Yes, the branch may make less on relocation and referral transactions, but for the most part, they wouldn’t have had the business in the first place…so it is a gift.
Look for the next superstar
But it all comes down to positioning. While I know some agents may not always favor relocation because they can’t get on the team (among other reasons), it all comes down to explaining to them why they can or can’t. I have seen departments/counselors who have their favorite agents and it is virtually impossible for an agent to get onto the team. There is always room for a rock star agent who has proven they are tech savvy, detail-oriented, get great reviews, is an all-star negotiator, and knows the market inside and out. If you have told them everything involved in the process and they still want to do it, you may have the next great agent for the team. If you are measuring your team’s performance closely, you may determine some of your longstanding agents have slipped a bit. Complacency can do that. Spreading the wealth can lead to discovering some real talent out there. Let them handle the online leads or some rental or area tours to test them out. Have them do a sample BMA to determine if they can handle the paperwork and deadlines.
Pay attention to how your staff engages with the relocation agent team. I suggest periodically surveying your team for feedback. I spoke to an agent not long ago who said they were scared of the counselor in their relocation department. They said they were fearful if they made them mad, they would cut them off. The counselor’s behavior, based on my perception of our conversation and the things the agent told me, bordered on bullying. Not cool. Make sure the selections are made based on performance and the best match and that the staff understands the challenges agents face, particularly right now. If you keep it clinical based on metrics, then it removes some of the personal dynamics that might creep into these relationships. It levels the playing field.
Get over the money aspect
Some agents may also say that relocation takes all of their money or tries to steal their clients. Again, it comes down to taking the time to explain where the money goes, how it is divided up, compliance and risk issues, and all of the expenses involved in generating that business and executing a relocation. Sometimes we are so close to the inner workings of the industry we forget not everyone understands intimately the ways things evolve in relocation and the risks at stake.
When a preferred/requested agent situation pops up, if you have educated your managers and given them written resources to reference, then they will be able to diffuse the ticking time bomb until you can speak with them to help the agent understand the situation. A preferred agent transaction is not the time to dig your heels in. The worst thing you can do is say ‘It has to be paid…no discussion.’ There has to be dialog to talk them off the ledge as to why all of these people are getting in their business. Work with all company stakeholders and figure out how to cover the referral fee with the least amount of impact on all parties. If it means no profit on that file or maybe even a loss on occasion and a lot of staff time, so be it. You’ll make it up on the next one. But by educating everyone before the situation arises, you can remind them about the discussion you had previously regarding these situations.
You’ve got to have their back
I spent a lot of time making sure the people who were on the front lines with the agents knew that I was solutions-oriented. The managers would say to me ‘The minute the agent came to me, I told them that we would call you and you would help us work through it.’ They said that because I coached them to say that. We would do a three-way call and talk through the situation. Having the manager help dial down the heat before I ever spoke to the agent, was immensely helpful. Was it all sunshine and rainbows? Absolutely not. But I like to think the managers respected my staff and me as much as we respected them. Wrangling agents is a hard job. Retaining them is even harder. We can never forget what our role is in a brokerage—we are not the main event.
The other day I ‘liked’ and made a comment on a social post from a branch manager in a brokerage where I worked for many years. She had won an award and I congratulated her. I haven’t worked for that company since 2017, but she responded to my post and said ‘I miss you, you always had my back’. I’d like to think that all of the many branch managers I have worked with throughout the years would all say I had their back. We are a cog in a much bigger wheel. While we have many roles in a brokerage, being the source of pain shouldn’t be one of them.
“Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break.” ~ Jane I. Wells is a documentary filmmaker and activist whose films focus on global human rights and social justice issues
