A landlord rings up because you or
one of the team have c*cked up, you offer to waive their fees that month. For
our estate agency colleagues, you failed to get the property in the newspaper
for the second week in a row, so you promise a run of four (meaning other sellers
will miss out). You give a colleague a £5k pay rise because you heard they going
to interviews with the competition
Most of the time, people don't want a
refund or a bonus. What they really want is for you to hear them and to do the
right thing. What if every manager and every landlord / colleague contact in
your organisation bought into that?
Here
are some things you can do that don't cost any money (but they certainly
require effort):
Bosses
(that’s not just the MD, but everyone who is someone’s line manager) .... Treat
your colleagues with care and respect .. listen to them .. give credit where
credit is due. .. say thank you every night (and only say it if you mean it) when
they leave the office on their contribution for the day. Have regular 1 to1’s
with them .. treat them with dignity (ie don’t show them up in front of their
other colleagues... Again listen to what they have to say. Be consistent in
your actions, don’t treat one different to others (it will soon get back and
you will be (whether its true or not) that you operate favouritism) ..... Keep
your promises. Take responsibility .. the buck stops with YOU .. say Sorry when
you do C*ck things up ( and more importantly, mean it)... if in doubt, do the
right thing ... When wrong, offer a heartfelt apology. Dont be a twat ... and
most important of all .. just Care
...
and towards your clients (landlords, sellers, tenants and buyers) .. just
repeat the above.
... and if you dont manage anyone .. hey guess what .. just repeat the above .. trust me you will enjoy your job more if you do
PS Bosses ... most colleagues don’t leave for the money. Beyond
a point, an employee's main need has less to do with money, and more to do with
how he or she treated and how valued he or she feels. Much of this depends
directly on the immediate manager. If everyone is jumping ship in a the lettings or mortgage department, look at the department head. If everyone is jumping ship at a particular office then look to the branch manager, if all your branch managers are leaving, then look to the area manager. If all your area mangers are leaving .. look in the mirror