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Growth agency identifies staff well-being as a priority

A Brisbane real estate agency which has undergone significant expansion has made team welfare a key part of its team development strategy.

LJ Hooker Cleveland has become the Redlands areaโ€™s largest operator following an astute recruitment drive and mergers. Between August and February, the team:

  • increased its sales division from 22 to 28 agents;
  • added 4 portfolios to its rental department, taking the division to 10 portfolios with additional property managers and support staff;
  • increased the number of properties under management from 900 to 1400.

At a team development day recently, the agency sourced key speakers in leadership, culture and market analytics to discuss the latest innovations with the team.

Managing Director Iain Carmichael said the management team acknowledged the need to also assist team members in managing their own personal wellbeing.

โ€œReal estate is one of the most stressful, customer-facing industries around,โ€ he said. โ€œWeโ€™ve gone through exponential growth and it can be a challenge juggling additional administrative and management duties with the personal wellbeing of each team member.

โ€œWe have always had an open-door policy at LJ Hooker Cleveland, and will continue to. But we knew it was the right move to educate the team on how they can self-manage their own workplace pressures, for a double-layered approach to wellbeing.โ€

As a result, LJ Hooker Cleveland engaged respected speaker and wellbeing coach Sandra Larkin to outline to team members how to best manage health in the workplace.

โ€œIโ€™ve worked in real estate for 18 years, in every aspect of the industry,โ€ said Ms Larkin. โ€œI know the challenges of every role.

โ€œIโ€™ve seen and identified over time that the amount of stress endured in the industry has an impact on every part of our lives; it can cause depression, end relationships and affect health.

โ€œOur bodies react to stress in different ways, and how we acknowledge that is key to managing it. If we can change our mind about stress we can change our bodiesโ€™ responses to stress.โ€

Ms Larkin emphasised to the group that recognising the initial signs of stress, work-related anxiety and other conditions was essential to stopping it becoming a long-term, debilitating issue.

โ€œIn an industry such as real estate, stress is often seen as a badge of honour: if our managers and colleagues see how stressed we are, theyโ€™ll recognise how busy we are and that will represent how hard weโ€™re working. Thatโ€™s a perception that has unfortunately become normalised. But stress shouldnโ€™t be what defines our efforts.

โ€œItโ€™s often those quiet achievers that are the true winners as they can deal with the stress their jobs create, while getting to go home at a decent hour and sleeping well at night. Stress shouldnโ€™t be seen as a by-product of greater GCI or less arrears.

โ€œStress is always going to be in our lives, in one way or another. But those that can learn to manage it successfully will be those that achieve their professional ambitions and enjoy a fruitful personal life at the same time.โ€

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