For an industry that is in the midst of an historic transition, an asset called talent is quickly and quietly becoming what may be the defining difference between success and failure.
More than 80 percent of the market value of today’s Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is allocated to intangible assets. That value measures the intellect, versatility,creativity and execution ability of a firm's workforce. One of the most important business trends in today’s economy is the growing realization that to achieve lasting competitive advantage, companies must implement measurable processes for acquiring, advancing and retaining the best and brightest contributors in their market.
Brokerage thought: Talent is no longer a luxury. It is now a prerequisite to success. Talent was a major theme at the recent Keller Williams Family Reunion conference.
Several sessions addressed issues of recruiting, retaining and managing talented people at all levels of the organization. Keller Williams’ focus on talent is more than just rhetoric. Candidates for international, regional and local executive and management positions must survive an exhaustive battery of interviews, tests and exercises designed to provide the company with as much information as possible about the individual’s potential talent level.
Brokerage thought: Talented people can be identified by personality and proficiency. An Internet treasure trove on the subject of talent can be found on the humancapitalinstitute.com Web site. The Institute is an organization totally dedicated to talent management. It is a think-tank, clearinghouse and self described “catalyst” for the newest ideas and most creative strategies in identifying, recruiting, training, retaining and managing talented people. The annual fee for a professional membership is worth a fortune for companies trying to acquire the skills and strategies of talent management.
Brokerage thought: Much is known and can be learned about how to get the most out of talented individuals.
Talent management is one of the most powerful competitive weapons in the current knowledge economy. Yet many brokerage firms continue to cling to industry experience and agent management skills as the primary recruiting and hiring criterion. Thought must be given to the fact that much of the experience that currently exists within the industry relates to circumstances that no longer exist. Experience with managing agents during the past ten years will have little or no relevance to working with agents in the transaction ahead.
Brokerage thought: Placing a premium value on industry experience and agent relations is likely to deny the firm the very talent it will require to transition into the new real estate reality.
Many firms take great pride in the fact that they are staying with existing managers and executives despite the fact that it is clear that their days of creativity and innovation are behind them. This loyalty is certainly laudable relative to the few who are its beneficiaries.
However, interviews with agents suggest a growing awareness, especially among younger agents, that firms that do not value and recruit talented leaders are not the place to be moving forward.
Brokerage thought: Survey the company management team. If less than 60 percent of the managers and executives can truly be classified as talented, there is a current problem and a future crisis.
The concept of talent management is divided into five operational areas; talent strategy, talent acquisition, talent development, talent leadership and talent solutions.
Talent strategies are first articulated in the business planning process. Whatever its business objectives brokerages will require talented human capital (aka: resources.) Tying specific human talents to the brokerage’s overall goals and objectives will materially increase the likelihood of success.
Most firms are making their greatest efforts in the area of talent acquisition (recruiting.) Unfortunately upon discovering the level of talent within their primary recruiting targets (individuals with industry experience) they too often default to the familiar and decline the challenge of incorporating non-traditional skill sets into their operations.
Talent development for the management team was for many years a non-entity in the real estate industry. During the last few years, the Real Trends organization and others have made huge strides in providing the industry with effective programs to develop the talents and competencies of its managers.
The maximization of talent potential requires constant coaching and motivating. A talented person swimming in a river of mediocrity will soon take on the characteristics of his or her environment.
Hiring talented people and encouraging their career and personal development are but two of the steps required to create a “talent value” company culture.
The third step is providing an appropriate level of leadership at the senior executive level. For some firms this has proven to be a challenge. By way of example long-term broker owner and family involvement in senior management often creates an environment that while comforting in appearance is disparaging to the value of talent. Managing a team of talented people requires a very special kind of executive. Executives of this quality who find themselves being an intermediary between talent and the family way are soon burned out and gone.
Lastly, there are the issues created by the need to support a “talent valued” real estate company. Such firms require practical, powerful and effective talent management tech-nologies and processes. The technology must be affordable, highly practical and user-friendly. Processes and best practices must be people friendly, value-driven, cost-effective, and designed to address both current business plans and future growth patterns.
Today’s real estate industry exists within a whirlwind of change and challenge. Main-taining ownership and control of a $2.7 trillion marketplace is a serious objective.
In the coming years, success will not depend on the size of a brokerage’s operations, the history of their companies or even the prowess of their agents. In the final analysis, success will depend on the applied talents of their human capital at the management level.
