Contributors: Amanda Creter and Alex Mont-Ros
When you are growing your real estate business, there comes a point where you can no longer do it alone. You have more on your plate than you can handle, so naturally, you begin the hiring process. This is necessary and vital to your organization. However, you should be very careful during this phase, because it can easily hinder growth, instead of aid it. Who you hire, especially early on, is paramount to the construction of your team and the trajectory of your business.
With most startups and specific to real estate, once you feel the pressure to bring someone on, you’ve waited too long. You feel like you “need someone NOW.” Flash hiring because you need the “bodies” can get you into a lot of trouble and set your company back. Former Apple Chief Evangelist Guy Kawasaki said “When you’re in a rush to fill openings to respond to growth, you make mistakes. Unfortunately, many companies adopt the attitude of, ‘hire any intelligent body, or we’ll lose business–we’ll sort everything out later.” This method, though it may be effective in the interim, will not serve you well for the long haul.
So what is the best approach when it comes to your real estate business and who you align yourself with? There’s a lot of controversy over the mantra “hire slow, fire fast”, but many successful business owners support this philosophy. I think what many people miss is that this hiring process isn’t advising you to take a long time to interview and bring on each new person, but it does recommend you perform your due diligence and not rush it.
Instead of reviewing a resume and conducting 1-2 interviews before extending an employment offer, take a bit longer to get to know the person, and how well they will mesh with your team. If feasible, possibly extend an invitation to come in and work side by side with your team for a day. There are other plenty of great ways to perform this due diligence such as implementing Panel Interviews with a few trusted people, usually no more than 3, who can walk through situational & behavioral questions and role plays with the candidate. This process usually removes the hiring manager and allows their peers or trusted few to interview the candidate and give their unbiased opinion, allowing the collective group to rate as a whole the candidate. Keller Williams Realty also has a well built out structure called Recruit Select to help identify the right candidate for the job. Involving your team early on will help in the decision making process, and could save you from a catastrophic hiring mistake. But what do you do if you’ve already made the mistake?
Most individuals are not trained on how to bring on new talent, or cut ties with someone who just isn’t working out. It’s a process learned over time, by trial and error. It’s okay if you have already made the mistake of hiring too quickly and now being faced with the dilemma of what to do next. If you already have the feeling a team member isn’t working out, it’s time to part ways. Keeping someone on staff that just isn’t working out hurts both your team and your business. A bad apple can slowly poison the rest of the batch. If you keep someone around who shouldn’t be there, your team will notice, and begin to question why. You may feel a sense of loyalty; maybe you hired a friend, or this is someone who has been there from the start. But waiting won’t resolve the issue, and it isn’t kind to keep someone around that is detrimental to everyone else.
Firing fast when you realize the person isn’t a fit is crucial to your business. As the saying goes, “you are only as strong as your weakest link.” You are running a business, not a charity. You have clients, and possibly investors, to answer to. You cannot afford to keep someone around that isn’t working out. Firing someone is never easy, and never feels good. It requires being a leader and having hard conversations. When all is said and done, your business and your team will thank you for doing what was necessary for them to thrive.
If you know of any other great ways for hiring the right talent and avoid making bad hiring decisions, please comment below and share. We would love to hear from you.
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References:
Kawasaki, G. (2006). How to prevent a bozo explosion. Retrieved from http://guykawasaki.com/how_to_prevent_/
