The best real estate investors surround themselves with the best possible team. As individual as investing in real estate is there is also plenty of reliance on the people around you. It is not enough to hire the first able person that comes your way. You need to be comfortable that whoever works for you is on the same page. Once your team is in place you need to do everything you can to ensure they stay with you. Providing steady work is nice but is not enough to keep them coming back. You need to treat everyone around you as if they are the most important member of your team. Once they feel neglected or under-appreciated they will start to look elsewhere. In the real estate world you are only as good as the team around you. Here are five tips to help you hire and retain the best possible team.
- Personality. There is an old saying in business that it is important to separate business and friendship. While this is true in most cases it doesn’t mean you have to rule your business with an iron fist. There is a way you can merge being friendly while still getting your point across. People like to work with people they enjoy being around. By constantly calling, harassing and questioning everything the people around you do they are going to eventually have enough. When this happens you are going to lose many good people and be forced to start from scratch. Good workers and team members are not irreplaceable. You may never know just how valuable someone is until they leave. Something as small as being on time to a meeting or greeting people with respect really goes a long way. You don’t need to be best friends with everyone you would with but you should know that personality counts.
- Communication. Where most relationships go wrong is with a lack of communication. In the real estate world communication is more than just staying in touch. You need to spend the time to talk about exactly what you want done before any work is started. Just a few extra minutes detailing your thoughts and ideas can not only save you time and money but can save a relationship. Without communication there will be finger pointing and second guessing on both sides. In most cases it is up to the real estate investor to illustrate exactly what they want done. After speaking with a contractor, painter, electrician, carpenter or website developer there should be no question as to what you are looking to accomplish. If there are some questions or confusion you need to iron it out before anything is done. Don’t run away from answering questions or avoid thinking about the work you are asking for. Never let a lack of communication ruin a good working relationship.
- Empower. Almost everyone you work with is a professional at what they do. Even if they are not technically a professional the odds are they are more skilled in their field than you are. To get the most out of your team there are times you need to defer to them. Nobody likes being told what to do and how to do it all the time. Instead of micromanaging everyone on your team learn to give them a little rope. This doesn’t mean you can’t have control of your projects but you don’t need to call or checkup every few minutes. What you will find is that when employees are given increased responsibility they start to feel part of the team. In most cases they accept the challenge and work even harder. If you have a professional team around you there are times you need to back off and let them be professionals.
- Consistency. Most team members want to know that if they do their job you are going to work with them again. There is a certain give and take in knowing where you can push and when you need to back off. The people around you need to know what they are getting every time. You can’t be the moody jerk one day and walk into the project with coffee the next. Everyone is entitled to a bad day but eventually you will gain a reputation that is too hard to ignore. You also need to be careful asking for favors without an established relationship. Not every project has to be a rush. You also can’t ask your team to sharpen their pencil on every single deal. Everyone on your team wants work but there is also a line that everyone has.
- Timely Payments. When someone on your team finishes their work you need to pay them. This sounds simply enough but no enough investors practice this. You can’t let them wait for other checks to clear or projects to close. You also shouldn’t nickel and dime your team on every deal. Once you get the reputation as someone who is cheap or doesn’t pay promptly everyone will know it. Instead of getting a rush on something you will have a hard time finding people to work for you. Everyone works to get paid. Your team shouldn’t expect their boss to drag their feet with payments when they finish a job.
With the right team around you accomplish more tasks with less effort. Always work to find the best people and once you do value their work.
