30 Apr Culture is Attractive
Intro
You can usually tell during the interview process whether or not a candidate will be a βgood fitβ for your team.
Your office culture is made up of the values, beliefs and behaviour of everyone in your business and is often also indicative of your goals as the business owner.
Culture is not a tangible thing; in that you canβt see it or touch it – but you can certainly feel it.
It determines how your staff see themselves contributing to your business and also forms the perception of those in your community.
In order to attract people who will add value and bring essence to your business, you need to understand what works in your business and what kind of candidate will be best suited to enhance the existing team.
If they see their workplace as an enriching and enticing place to work, their energy & enthusiasm will help to set the standard for new recruits.
Top Tips!
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Our senses are in tune with the environment we are surrounded by.
So, itβs important to give your team the space to embrace their personalities, to be themselves & interact with each other, to share wins & losses in their day.
The sharing of stories, ideas, inspiration challenges is crucial to developing a cohesive and communicative team.
Equally, you should always have an βopen doorβ policy which allows your team the confidence & assurance that they can come to you or your management team privately with any concerns. And without fear of reprisal if they are open & honest about situations which could affect the culture or the business.
A happy & supported team will go above & beyond to make you proud.
They often have a very different view of your business which, if you give them their duly deserved respect and gratitude, can result in astute perspectives that you wonβt always see.
Promoting an office culture which values sharing and encourages problem solving builds trust, balance and better productivity among your team.
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When hiring new employees, itβs important not to just look at their level of experience & ability to do the job.
Itβs equally important (if not more!) to find people who understand, resonate with & believe in your vision and the overall mission you have for your business.
These value systems and behaviours are often very evident in the office culture if theyβve been shared and have carried on within the team from the very beginning.
By asking the right questions which will allow you to get to know the candidate on a more in-depth level during the interview process, you can get a gauge as to how they will fit in with your current team dynamic.
An interview shouldnβt be about you.
Itβs about learning whether they have what it takes to add real value & commitment to your business.
For more information on leading & defining questions you should ask in an interview, contact me.
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Every Friday afternoon, get some picking platters together and gather your team around so that each staff member shares:
3 things that went well during the week,
1 thing they learned,
1 challenge,
3 things they are looking forward to next week.
As a result, people reflect on the positives, share success together, empathise with the challenge to make it less of a burden to carry and they actually become more excited about coming to work the next week.
By verbalising what they are looking forward to, that helps finish the week on a high!
Itβs social. Itβs fun. Itβs bonding over work related issues
Itβs about mindset & integration.
This is something Iβve implemented in different teams and itβs worked so well – often over cocktails or wine along with the nibblesΒ π€·π»ββοΈ
But each to their own!
If you choose, add in a reward for the best result each week.
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No matter who you are or what you do, every one of us needs a little acknowledgement and appreciation for our effort – especially when that effort is essentially for the greater benefit of someone else.
And your employees are no different.
And, yes.
They are being paid for their time & so the effort they put in is expected, right?
Well yes, however there is a limit as to what is considered acceptable and what is going above and beyond.
If you have a team member (or an individual) who quite clearly does more than is expected and who works hard to ensure that your business flourishes, be sure to say βthank youβ
Actively showing gratitude isnβt just a trend, itβs incredibly beneficial.
Studies show that a simple βthank youβ goes a long way in making people feel listened to, respected and valued.
Sending a personal thank you message to an employee who has gone the extra mile or successfully finished a particularly challenging task is an easy way to show your employees that their work matters and is valuable to you.
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Allowing & encouraging your team to diversify within your business by learning new skills & giving them the space to move into different roles can provide greater opportunities for responsibility & appreciation as well as increased financial reward for both of you.
Up-skilling & promoting from within also helps employees feel valued and that they are a crucial part of the success of the business.
To enable this – employee development, education and training is imperative and should be another tool in your retention arsenal.
Training & education goes hand in hand with mindset & motivation.
If conducted in the right way it builds your overall team culture and sets the framework for team bonding & a cohesive and energetic workplace.
According to research, skills training combined with professional plus personal development programs are perceived among the top benefits for retaining employees over the next five years.
Learning cannot just be an afterthought β it must be a core focus of any strong organisation.
And this isnβt just through scheduled events. It is also on a daily basis through podcasts,
webinars, asking questions of other team members & management.
A focus on education is also key to higher retention rates as a commitment to training is seen by employees as an investment in their worth and a powerful incentive to stay where they are.
Investing in your employeesβ education will also satisfy the need for new skill sets as evolving roles are in demand at a rapidly growing rate.
Putting someone on a career path that doesnβt have any room to develop is not only a career-limiting move for the employee, but a business-limiting move for the company.
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My next tip in building amazing culture within your business is around implementing a weekly rewards program where results and wins are celebrated.
A rewards program doesnβt have to be expensive or even monetary based. Your team will want to get involved anyway!
Especially if you make it fun, you could integrate it into my earlier post on Feel Good Fridayβs.
Something we used to do was have a heap of envelopes with numbers on them stuck to a wall in the office.
Each Friday afternoon over our weekly debrief in the Feel-Good Friday, we would announce the winner of that weekβs challenge and they got to pick a number from the wall and they won the prize inside.
It could be as simple as a car wash, a massage, a gift voucher, $50 cash, a lunch voucher, coffee for a week, a case of beer or bottle of wine.
Most people in real estate are competitive by nature. Β So, a rewards and recognition program have a number of benefits to tap into that.
Financially and culturally.
Change up the competition focus each week so everyone has a chance of winning.
Some weekly ideas are:
Who gets the?
* Most offers
* Most listings
* Most MA leads (so lead gen agents have a chance)
* Most appraisals
* Most new managements
* Most sales
* Most additions to the DB
- Most new leases
Give it a go!
We found that a rewards and recognition culture made the workplace more engaged and it made the team happier.
These programs also improve team dynamics, with an active rewards and recognition program improving employee relationships through celebration & support.