Employee Contracts

Whether you are opening a brokerage, expanding a team, or taking on a managing broker role, chances are you’ve encountered the challenge of employees not meeting expectations. Effective staff management hinges on designing a compensation and reward system that motivates individuals to perform as required. In this chapter, we delve into crafting a system that aligns employee behavior with organizational goals. We’ll explore both the written employment contract and the often-overlooked psychological contract, shedding light on common pitfalls in staff management processes.

You need to design compensation structures to motivate your staff to do the jobs you hired them to do. This involves matching the desired behaviour to the compensation received. Imagine you own a facility, and you’d like it fully utilized while keeping costs low. If you compensate a person based on cost savings alone, you are at risk of motivating them to create policies that keep the place underutilized. This is because empty spaces can be cheaper to run than full ones, as they don’t require power or cleaning. In this case, you have the option of creating a bonus structure based on both cost savings and space utilization. You can ask the staff to create financial projections based on step-based variable costing tied to utilization. For example, if the space is used for 4 hours a day by 4 or fewer people, then the cost should be $1, but if the space is used for 8 hours per day by 8 people, then the cost should be $2. This links utilization with costs, but you may also consider applying a portion of the bonus consideration to utilization itself. You can task this person with the responsibility of supporting programs that increase utilization, and you can tie a reward to this.

If you are hiring somebody whose license is required to keep the doors open, like a managing broker, then you may consider a term contract that includes a penalty for leaving outside the contract. Specify terms such as required notice and penalties for failure to deliver notice. Another option with this role to offer a base salary plus compensation for every agent managed. This motivates the managing broker to retain as many agents as possible. It also allows you to step base your employment costs so you aren’t paying overly high fees when the brokerage has few agents. Some brokerages go with a set fee per agent and others pay a percentage of the gross commission income. If the brokerage is large enough then the duties may be divided between recruitment and document review. In this case you can offer a fee per document reviewed, or a bonus if the broker processes documents above a specified threshold. If there is a broker designated towards recruitment then you can offer a fee to be paid for recruiting the agent and a cut of the gross commission income.

If a managing broker is impossible to find in your marketplace then consider adding signing bonus that is required to be repaid if the employee leaves within a specified time period. This is particularly important if the job requires substantial training or involves sharing trade secrets. Once you train an employee in those trade secrets, they become more in demand within the marketplace. If better offers are waiting, those employees may be unwilling to stay and work out problems. Creating an ironclad contract forces conversations that might not have happened otherwise and prevents you from becoming an unwitting training centre for the surrounding brokerages.

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ABOUT LIZ PENNER YOUR BEST LANGLEY REAL ESTATE AGENT

Liz Penner is a top-selling licensed real estate salesperson with the Fraser

Valley Real Estate Board and has been a top-selling realtor specializing in the residential resale of condos, townhomes, and houses for over a decade. Liz assists residents of the Langley and Surrey areas to sell real estate while looking out for the client’s best interests. Liz also helps first-time homebuyers, families, and repeat purchasers with their property search process, ensuring that her clients get access to the very best homes on the market while receiving excellent service ensuring that they find the perfect place to call home.

Liz holds a BBA in leadership and has completed a variety of specific training through the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board in the areas of selling strata properties, foreclosures, estate sales, and new construction properties. Liz is also well versed in POAs, the Strata Property Act, and more. If you are looking for a knowledgeable and professional real estate agent that is willing to do everything possible to ensure that you get top dollar for the sale of your home or to find the dream home you are looking for in the Surrey and Langley, BC areas then get in contact today.

If you are looking for a knowledgeable and professional real estate agent that is willing to do everything possible to ensure that you get top dollar for the sale of your home or to find the dream home you are looking for in the Surrey and Langley, BC areas then get in contact today.

WHY LIST YOUR HOME FOR SALE WITH LIZ PENNER

- I’ve helped sell over 400 properties throughout the Langley and Cloverdale area, and I’d love the opportunity to do the same for you.
- I’ve experienced straightforward sales and sales that have gone off the rails, back on the rails, off the rails, and then back on again. That’s just the way the real estate train rolls, and it never rattles me.
- I’ve got a solid toolkit to pull from when a problem arises. I take my job seriously each time, and I will make sure you get top dollar for your Fraser Valley, Langley, or Cloverdale home, smooth sailing, or otherwise.