Every broker knows that great agents are the key to a solid brokerage business. Attracting and retaining top talent is a constant priority.

A winning company culture – although hard to define – is an effective means of maintaining a strong roster of agents. But how do you do that?

While there’s no manual for how to create a culture that people want to be part of, every organization that has a winning company culture has a few things in common.

Building a Winning Company Culture

Leadership

As with any organization, what you put at the top of a real estate brokerage will trickle down throughout the ranks. A solid company culture starts with solid leadership.

To be an effective leader within today’s real estate environment you must be able to manage change while continuously encouraging sustainable growth.  It also requires that communicate proficiently, sharing your vision of the future while inspiring others to work towards that same ideal.

Purpose

Does your brokerage have a mission statement or set of values that together work toward a higher purpose? Think about Zappos’ “Deliver happiness” mantra. It’s an easy-to-understand concept that everyone in the corporation can get behind. It gives meaning beyond merely selling shoes and clothes.

As a leader, you must have a clear set of values which guide your everyday decisions. These are not values that vary from one agent to the next, but instead provide an unyielding corporate culture reflected in everything you do, every conversation you have and every decision you make.

Strong brand

In many examples, a strong brand itself stands as the symbol of a company’s culture. For example, the Google brand stands for innovation and creativity. The company is known for its fun campus and work environment that fosters this sort of thinking. Employees work in a colorful, non-stuffy office filled with toys and lounges that encourage collaboration and creative thinking.

Before you can create a strong brand, you must first determine:

• What your core values are and how they benefit your agents and business partners
• Whether your mission statement properly conveys your core values and supports company culture
• How your agents will play a role in creating and maintaining a strong company culture

Fun

As simple as it may sound, creating opportunities for fun around the office and making it part of your company fabric is really important when it comes to building culture. This, of course, doesn’t mean you have to buy everyone Nerf guns and keep the supply closet stocked with silly string.

However, organizing monthly volunteer days or outings like baseball games where people can socialize in a non-work setting are great ways to break the ice and start to create a feeling of comradery.

Creating a solid culture is a process that takes time, but one worth investing in. Similar to building a brand, you can’t do it overnight.