One reason to work with real estate recruiters is the frequent coming and going of agents amongst different brokers. Having a company or real estate head hunters that you work with regularly prevents you from having a shortage of sales agents during busy times. Another reason is that real estate recruitment firms relieve busy brokers from the responsibilities of checking references and reading multiple resumes.

When trying to fill real estate jobs in your office, a real estate recruiter can help match you with the best candidate. Check out the following policies when choosing a real estate recruiter:

1. The payment policy will either be a contingency plan or a retainer plan. Some recruiters offer both, while others prefer working with only one plan.

2. A performace review policy is helpful, since it means a recruiting company has your best interests in mind when hiring. See if the recruiting firm checks up on placements or has a standard follow-up period for employees placed by the agency.

3. A refund policy is important, since not all placements work out. A good recruitment firm will have a solid refun policy in place.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn more about real estate recruiting and retention

Getting the agents placed with the right office is the job of the real estate recruitement firm, but keeping the agent is the job of the broker. Brokers must understand that jobs in real estate are widely available. Once a broker has a top agent, he must work at re-recruiting that agent so she won't look at offers elsewhere. A broker can work with a real estate recruiter about how best to retain top agents.

I recommend: The National Association of Realtors has a list of questions employers should ask top employees to increase retention rates. The Real Estate Recruiters offer recruitment coaching for recruiters and brokers, including training CDs.

Get clear payment terms from real estate recruitment firms

Whether you're hiring for commercial real estate jobs or residential, get a clear payment policy from the recruitment agency. Agencies with a contingency plan don't accept payment until they actually place you with an agent. A retainer agency sets a fee that you pay before they place an agent.

I recommend: National Real Estate Recruiting has a contingency plan with fees that include 25% of an agent's salary, if the agency places an agent with you. They also offer a refund policy and 90-day guarantee. John Morrow & Associates utilize a retainer fee of 1/3 of an agent's salary. While they will work on a contingency basis for certain clients, this company prefers the retainer fees.

Hire a real estate recruiter that assists with websites

Most recruiters have their own website that explains the recruitment process and advertises vacancies. But most candidates are familiar with real estate company names and brokerage firms rather than a recruitment agency. That's why working with a recruiter that doesn't mind taking a look at your website and offering some tips is a good idea.

I recommend: Exceptional Websites offers real estate offices three different recruiting packages to get a website up and running. Zannee.com offers RE/MAX brokers the opportunity to build their own recruitment site for a relatively cheap price.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Tell the recruiter all the requirements of the real estate agent jobs available in your office. The recruiter will handle the initial interview, so all pertinent information is necessary to ensure you don't end up interviewing a person completely wrong for your office.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a real estate agent or a broker/owner of a real estate firm; you know that the highest commissions and thus income come from the marriage of the right agent and firm. What’s not simple is how to match open real estate jobs with the right agents. This is where real estate recruiting services can be beneficial to both sides.

Real estate head hunters understand that each open position requires a different combination of personality and skills. When filling open jobs in real estate, successful real estate recruiters can utilize their roster of real estate agents looking for a change to quickly and efficiently fill real estate agent jobs.

When considering whether you can benefit from partnering with real estate recruiting specialists, among the key points to consider are:

1. The level of specialization of the real estate recruiter;
2. The locations of real estate recruitment firms;
3. The overall goal of your working with real estate head hunters.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Work with real estate recruiters who understand your specialty

The world of real estate is vast and varied. There's no question that there are enormous differences between residential, multi-family residential, retail/office leasing and commercial real estate. By the same token, there are vast differences between successful agents in each segment of the market. Work with real estate head hunters who know your market. If you are a commercial real estate agent, you need to work with someone specializing in commercial real estate recruiting.

I recommend: Real estate development jobs are the specialty of Lucas Group, a construction and real estate recruitment firm. Highland and Associates focuses on jobs in commercial real estate.

Ignore the location of real estate recruitment firms

This is the one time in real estate sales that 'location' doesn't matter. Some of the most successful real estate recruiters work from a virtual office and never set foot in their clients' agencies. It's not likely that you will have a local specialist in real estate recruiting with whom you can speak face-to-face. It's more important that you find someone who knows real estate jobs inside and out.

I recommend: Recruit Tool is a firm that works with real estate brokers and sales professionals every day. This allows them to know the industry in a way that general local recruiters can’t.

Go into discussions with real estate head hunters knowing your end goal

Not everyone looking to change real estate jobs is looking for more money. Occasionally, you're looking for an office environment that's a better fit for your personality, or maybe you want to work in a city across the country where you have few networking contacts. By clearly communicating your goals to your real estate recruiter, you can increase your chances of finding the right job.

I recommend: S.R. Clarke knows that a successful real estate partnership is about more than dollars and cents and is known for its ability to meld personalities as well as commissions. Whether you’re a real estate broker looking to fill a position or a real estate agent ready to change jobs, S.R. Clarke can help.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Always ask for references from recently fulfilled positions when working with a real estate recruiter. The more recent the better, as the real estate industry is ever-changing.

Real estate industry recruiters take the stress out of screening and hiring staff for busy real estate business owners. There are real estate industry consultants who specialize in finding and screening candidates for certain jobs so that real estate business owners can concentrate on running their businesses. Real estate industry recruiters offer many services and knowing the key terms associated with these offerings will help you choose a recruiter wisely. Familiarize yourself with key terms to make the recruiting process efficient and easy.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Real estate recruitment strategies

There are specific real estate recruitment strategies that many consultants use to ensure that employers find and keep the staff they want for their open positions including offering larger salaries, career advancement opportunities and more job benefits. Real estate recruitment consultants who help create strategies like these for employers help find and motivate quality staff members for their businesses.

I recommend: Read the article about real estate recruitment strategies at Realty Times.

Time based search services

Time based search services for the real estate industry are done during a specific, agreed upon time between hiring companies and real estate consultants. During the specified time, real estate consultants do searches for potential employees as well as phone interviews and other hiring strategies to help real estate companies find employees in a timely and efficient manner.

I recommend: Read the information about the time based search services provided by National Real Estate Recruiting.

Recruitment process outsourcing

Recruitment outsourcing services manage the entire hiring process to meet the specific needs of real estate businesses. Everything from searching for real estate candidates, job profiling and hiring are all handled by one company. Real estate outsourcing services will also help employers to manage other aspects of their business from reducing business costs to ensuring compliance to governmental standards.

I recommend: Learn about recruitment process outsourcing for real estate recruitment at Human Resources Outsourcing Association (HROA).

Real estate executive search

Executive real estate search firms will search for staff to fill specific real estate positions coast to coast or globally. These companies have extensive real estate search engines and systems available and specialize in finding high-level executive personnel for real estate companies.

I recommend: Gather information about real estate executive search options at Kaye Bassman Executive Recruiting & Search.

Position assessment

Position assessment helps real estate businesses get the best employees for their companies. Real estate consultants interview potential candidates using pertinent questions based on criteria from hiring companies including real estate experience, goals and their ability to interact with other employees. Real estate consultants take this information to help hiring companies determine which candidates best meet their qualifications.

I recommend: Find out how American Real Estate Executive Search uses position assessment to recruit candidates for real estate jobs.

Behavioral interviewing

Behavioral interviewing is a specific type of interviewing that determines how a potential employee's past behaviors will effect their job performance. Many real estate consultants offer this service to hiring companies to help narrow down the field of job candidates to find the best candidates for their real estate businesses.

I recommend: Read the article about the importance of behavioral interviewing at Realtor.