For employees, there is no bigger red flag than a company with a high turnover rate. As an employer, you may as well just put a sign on the door that says "we don't value our staff".

Which is why effective employee retention is so important. 

The jobs market has changed, and employees no longer prioritise holding tenure with their current company over seeking a job elsewhere that better suits their lifestyle and career aspirations. 

Cunninghams Real Estate and Morton are two real estate agencies who are at the top of their game when it comes to effective employee retention. And when you speak with them, it's clearly something they are both passionate about. 

WILLIAMS MEDIA sat down with the owner and director of Cunninghams Real Estate, John Cunningham, and joint managing director of Morton, Ewan Morton to find out the retention strategies they use.

John Cunningham, owner and principal director of Cunninghams Real Estate

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What sorts of staff retention strategies does Cunninghams use?

For us, retention starts right at the beginning of the working relationship during the recruitment phase. It is critical that expectations are clear from day one, and that both sides understand what is expected. When this is done well, there are limited disappointments as the relationship develops.

The number one thing we can do as a business and as team leaders is to develop empowerment pathways for our team members. Without a clear understanding of the vision and direction of the business, team members will not be willing to follow the dream and get involved.

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Participation from the players in the team will inspire people who are just passengers to jump on board and believe in the vision, values and standards that make up the DNA of the culture.

Being part of something that has meaning is what most people are after, so creating an environment where respect for each other and each other’s differences is a utopia we all strive for, but it is a goal worth striving for as it leads to a fantastic performance culture as well.

How does Cunninghams make sure employees are engaged?

Having a culture that embraces and celebrates both participation and performance means that everyone in the team, from the front desk to the leading sales agents, are recognised for their skills and commitment to clients, community and the team. That is how our awards are structured. 

We also have a firm belief in training, coaching and mentoring and have a structured regime that ensures we are always challenging the status quo and embracing change at every opportunity. Having the team understanding that we are always looking forward means that change is so much easier to implement.

We also encourage the team to develop ideas and get involved in our quick wins and projects, so having small groups with a team leader working on these creates champions that will ensure implementation. We call them our Quantum Leap projects and find that with the right people involved, we get such great progression from an initial idea to the final initiative.

Ewan Morton, joint managing director of Morton Real Estate

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What sorts of staff retention strategies does Morton use?

The first thing is we try and recruit the right person, who has the right value set that fits with us. It's not always that easy to judge in an interview process, but if you get that bit right then the retention is a bit easier.

We know that people are most at risk in their first 12 months at Morton, and the reason for that is we do things at a different level to a lot of other businesses. Particularly on the property management side, a property manager thinks they've been operating under system and process, and they then come to us and they go, oh THIS is system and process, and it can be overwhelming. We work hard to catch them at that moment.

We're very good at supporting people as long as they speak up, and we have strategies to ensure they do speak up. We have a people and culture manager whose sole focus is to make sure our people are happy and to have conversations with new employees.

We also have buddy systems, and the idea behind that is people may not always want to talk to their manager about something out of fear of looking stupid, whereas they will feel more comfortable talking to a 'buddy'.

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We also have a performance review system - in that review, they're also given a development plan so we can work out what training and skills they require. That is becoming more tailored to an individual. 

We're big on awards ceremonies, and they're a great opportunity for the team to connect which is fantastic for culture. We always invite partners to work Christmas parties because we like to give thanks to them for the support they provide. 

We're very aware the real estate industry is extremely competitive, and that there are other agencies trying to poach our people. So we try and make sure we have an emotional connection with people, whether that comes from their team leader, or from me or David Elton who is our other joint managing director. I also make sure I'm having meaningful conversations with our people. I try and call people on their birthday and on their work anniversary to have a discussion about how things are going.  

My general attitude is if you want to give good service, you've got to have good people. And you have to do your best to create that environment for them to be good people. 

What about work perks like games rooms or free breakfasts? How much do they really contribute to employee retention, or are they purely a gimmick?

I have a fundamental view that humans want to have a purpose. They want to feel that whatever they're doing, they're having some sort of impact that is adding some sort of value that is appreciated.

Most people just want to be able to do the best they can in the environments they find themselves. We had a ping pong table and we did that, but the ping pong table wasn't the point. This guy wanted a ping pong table so he could run a local ping pong tournament and create a connection with people, so we bought the ping pong table for him.

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You can have all the gimmicks in the world, but if your fundamental ethos isn't very good, well who cares about that stuff? I think it has to be backed up with something genuine. People just want authentic, genuine leaders. I am very open and transparent, people can ask me any question about the business they like and I will answer it. If someone doesn't understand something, I will take the pains to make sure they know why we're doing something. 

I'm about less gimmick, more about being authentic and truthful. The other thing I try and do, and I think we do this well, we try and think about the best interests of the person. They will stay with Morton for as long as it's in their best interest to do so. If someone can't get a promotion with Morton or grow their skills, then, of course, they will go elsewhere, so we're very realistic about that. We think about what is in their best interests, and sometimes leaving us is in their best interests.

In real estate, the grass is always greener on the other side. Someone is talking a good story, but I've found that often that good story is not backed up. People who have worked in real estate for quite some time are a bit cynical because you get principals who say all sorts of good stuff, which they sort of mean, but they lack the capacity to carry through with. We're very conscious about doing what we say we do, and looking after people, and think about what's best for them. If we do that, it means they will stay at Morton.

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Related reading:

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