Great staff members are hard to find, and with a growing team over multiple offices, Richardson & Wrench Managing Director Roy Amery knows the value of dedicated personnel.
The seasoned managing director has just opened his fourth Richardson & Wrench office, the first of its kind within a Westfield Shopping Centre in Mount Druitt.
As 2022 rolls around, Mr Amery will be marking 20 years since he opened the doors of his first office, Richardson & Wrench at Rooty Hill.
“It isn’t easy to get good staff, and that’s never going change,” Mr Amery said.
“I think the pandemic has also changed people’s priorities around work and as a boss or manager you really need to understand that.
“You need to take an interest in your team and provide a great place to work.”
Mr Amery has gone from one staff member back in 2002 to a 37-person team today.
That close-knit group includes property manager Shayne Douglas who has been at the Rooty Hill office for 19 years and sales manager David Frendo, who has been with the team for 15 years.
“Our great staff culture is one of our biggest assets,” Mr Amery said.
“A lot of people start here and tell me their old place was all work and no fun.
“It’s really important for younger staff members; you’ve got to provide more than just a workplace. It’s fun, we do take ourselves seriously, but not too seriously.”
When the time came to renovate his Rooty Hill office recently, Mr Amery decided to offer his team something more than just a place of work by adding a bar and recreation room for staff to unwind and socialise.
“A lot of the time people just hang out there and talk or watch TV,” he said.
“If it’s lunchtime, a Friday or Saturday, it’s somewhere we can go where the vibe doesn’t feel like work.”
The contemporary and friendly office environment made it a smoother return for staff who had been working from home for months on end.
“During lockdowns, we obviously had to send a fair few people home to work,” Mr Amery said.
“When things opened up again, a few did struggle coming back to the office environment, but I’d say 90 per cent of my staff were just sick of sitting at home and wanted to get back.”
The supportive environment works both ways according to Mr Amery, who credits his “work family” for giving him the courage to grow beyond just one location.
Although he began in Rooty Hill two decades ago, Mr Amery opened an Erskine Park office in 2018, St Clair in 2019 and now the unique, new Mount Druitt premises.
“I found in the last three or four years that my successful sales team gave me the confidence to say, ‘You know what? I think we’re ready to expand’,” he explained.
“We were just working out of Rooty Hill and as much as we were dominating, it was hard to reach into those other suburbs. So we realised the time was right to get a presence in those key areas.”
Amanda Ward, Head of Brand and Network Strategy with the Richardson & Wrench Corporate Team, said Mr Amery’s story was inspirational.
“We are very proud to have Roy and the team flying the R&W flag – they are a salt of the earth team of hard working professionals who have built these businesses to a significant level of success, through honest, hard work,” Ms Ward said.
“We love seeing their continued growth, nothing makes us happier than to support them in reaching their goals.”
The property market has been booming in Western Sydney as home buyers and investors head west in search of space and better bang for their real estate buck.
To service the transforming region, no one is better placed than Mr Amery.
The born and bred local is the son of long-standing State MP Richard Amery, who retired in 2015.
“My dad was a local member here for more than 30 years,” he said.
“So with him being here for such a long time, and being so much a part of the community, really helped me when I opened.
“I was just 22, but people obviously knew my father quite well. I grew up here and went to school locally as well so I knew the younger generation.”
Being the son of a politician isn’t always easy, but Mr Amery joked he was grateful his dad was one of “the good ones”.
“My father’s position was a great leg up, of course, because it was like I started with his good reputation,” Mr Amery said.
“However, it’s always been there in the back of my mind that I wanted to carry on that great name and not let him down.”
He said just like having a great brand name by the likes of Richardson & Wrench behind him, he teaches new team members that a solid reputation is the golden ticket to a successful career in property.
“At the end of the day, it’s amazing who you meet and connect with in this line of work. But if you do the wrong thing, you’re not going to get the repeat business,” he said.
“I think so many people get into real estate because on the outside it might look flashy; they want to drive a nice car and make all this money.
“I tell them while that can happen, the money might not be great for the first few years.
“However, if you work hard and really enjoy it – because unless you enjoy it, you’re not going to make money – every year will get easier and the success will come.”
