How Engineering A Culture of Abundance Has Impacted LG Fairmont’s Growth and Retention
By Eddy Boccara and Dakota O’Brien
Since New York City has entered a post-COVID-19 phase, agents have experienced a boom in business and firms are experiencing unprecedented levels of agent growth. However, with nearly 65% of agents that joined the industry in the last year switching firms, high retention rates are more difficult to come by.
With that being said, boutique firms seem to be breaking the trend with increasing retention rates, specifically with newer agents.
Special Note: Boutique firms are defined as firms with less than 300 agents.
Us data lovers at Corofy decided to take an in-depth look at the city’s growth and retention trends amongst boutique brokerages post-COVID-19.
LG Fairmont’s Unique Hiring and Retention Trends
Our CEO, Eddy Boccara, sat down with Aaron Graf and Zoe Kellerhals-Madussi at LG Fairmont to discuss their firm’s growth and retention rates and how they help the new agents that join their firm succeed.
LG Fairmont’s journey provides a unique look into the act of balancing hiring and retention at a growing firm. Although the firm’s agent headcount now stands at a third of what it was 18 months ago, LG Fairmont’s retention has increased significantly, from 41% in 2019 to over 63% this year.
Aaron Graf – CEO, LG Fairmont
For many growing firms, a rapidly growing team comes at the expense of both their retention and brokerage culture. For LG Fairmont, it was important to maintain the values and offerings that make their brokerage a destination for so many new agents — leads, training, and a collaborative culture that their agents describe as family-like.
A Commitment To Hiring Properly
To maintain their collaborative culture and growing retention rate, LG Fairmont makes it a point to protect their hiring process.
Zoe Kellerhals-Madussi – President of Sales and Marketing, LG Fairmont
By being strict in its hiring process, LG Fairmont has been able to expand its team with quality, long-lasting hires that are committed to growing their real estate careers.
Getting Agents Out In The Industry
Like many other brokerages in New York City, LG Fairmont relies on their training process to get their agents accustomed to the industry, thus making them productive and increasing the likelihood of them staying with their firm.
However, in contrast, LG Fairmont’s training approach works hand-in-hand with their lead generation system, which works to give new agents an outlet to work directly with clients so they can learn the ins and outs of the industry almost immediately after joining their team.
Aaron Graf – CEO, LG Fairmont
By being strict in its hiring process, LG Fairmont has been able to expand its team with quality, long-lasting hires that are committed to growing their real estate careers.
Zoe Kellerhals-Madussi – President of Sales and Marketing, LG Fairmont
The Risk Of Sharing Leads With New Agents
Lead generation is a costly process, often making it a risk for brokerages to share these leads with newer agents.
LG Fairmont has engineered a system to be able to send leads to all their agents and manage all the agents that receive their leads, ensuring new agents get hands-on experience and make the most of the leads they are given.
Aaron Graf – CEO, LG Fairmont
The Importance of a Collaborative Culture
Before creating LG Fairmont, Aaron Graf, CEO of the firm, studied other brokerages to see what was impacting agent growth and retention. When it came to agents leaving their brokerage, an overly competitive culture seemed to be the biggest gripe.
In response, LG Fairmont made it a point to foster a collaborative, team-oriented culture amongst their agents. By sharing leads with their agents from the beginning, they eliminated the risk of agents competing against one another.
Aaron Graf – CEO, LG Fairmont
Zoe Kellerhals-Madussi – President of Sales and Marketing, LG Fairmont
Hunger To Succeed In Real Estate
For LG Fairmont, it’s clear that it’s not just about hiring new agents, but about creating an environment that fosters their success and makes them excited about real estate. This is part of the recipe that has helped them increase their retention rate by nearly 14% in just 18 months.
Zoe Kellerhals-Madussi – President of Sales and Marketing, LG Fairmont
Our Feeling
With an influx of new agents entering the industry post-COVID-19 and a large percentage of those agents switching firms within their first year, it’s more important than ever that brokerages maintain a culture that supports agents as they make their way in real estate.
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