Monday, August 28, 2017

Why Your Company Needs Real Estate Policies And Procedures Manual And Management Guides

By Sarah King


Companies that want to succeed set rules and regulations that let employees know what is expected and what the company philosophy is. Newly hired workers receive copies of the manuals and are encouraged to read them. The realty business has special rules salespeople and staff must follow. If you are a Broker without a real estate policies and procedures manual and management guides, there are online companies with detailed generic manuals you can purchase.

Although you can choose to create your own policies and procedures manual, professionals have vetted the online versions to ensure the information is comprehensive and adheres to current laws. It is certainly possible to tailor the manuals for your particular business. Companies who work with salaried staff and independent contractors especially need to put company policy in writing.

Comprehensive and efficient manuals are usually divided into sections and subsections in loose leaf binders. This makes it easy for management to move topics around and insert additional pages as necessary. The use of numbered lists and bullets allows busy employees to scan the topics quickly. Some of the sections will be specific to real estate and others will pertain to general office policy.

For realty businesses, it is very important that everyone who works for the company clearly understands the meaning of antitrust laws. Company policy regarding this subject should be at the front of your manual. If anyone in the company implies in any way that your commission structures meet area standards, or that they are charging the standard commission set by area companies, severe penalties and fines could result.

The principle Broker makes decisions when it comes to the percentage the company charges clients. Everyone needs to understand what the policy is and know they are not allowed to deviate from that without the express permission of the Broker. Some companies reduce commissions when a sale price reaches a certain level. Some offer lower commissions on commercial properties and higher ones on residential properties.

If you choose to enforce a dress code for your office and for your salespeople when they are out in the community, you need to put it in writing. Young employees may not have enough experience to know what constitutes appropriate office apparel, and your independent contractor salespeople may think the rules do not apply to them. All of your employees represent your company, and their appearance is part of that.

If you want your salespeople to make regular contact with their sellers, you should give them specific guidelines about how often you want them to do it. As management, it may be company policy that salespeople make a certain amount of cold calls each month. This is a policy that should be included in your company manual. When you make these kinds of rules, it is important to enforce them.

Employees are more productive and satisfied when they clearly understand what management expects. Putting it in writing and making the policies available to everyone will leave no room for doubt. When changes and amendments are made to company policy, everyone should be aware of it and given written copies.




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