As broker-owners, you may have noticed your office is a little less lively than in the past. Many real estate agents are working in the office less and less, and then coupled with the pandemic, in-office work may have officially been killed. While remote work is on the rise, company culture is disintegrating. If you’re looking for ways to achieve balance between remote work and in-office staff without sacrificing company culture, below are some ways to keep your agents engaged.

• Be cautious about insisting on in-person events as the only time agents can bond with the team. By creating this type of mandatory environment, agents may feel forced or even alienated to show up to said events. Team bonding shouldn’t feel like an obligation; it should feel like a freedom. Instead, offer a variety of events to your team. Happy hour, mini golf, brunch, pottery class, yoga - these are all activities some agents may enjoy while others don’t, but offering an assortment will allow them to select which to attend and build camaraderie among their fellow agents. In between company events, encourage your agents to seek out one another’s company on their own terms. Provide each team member with a gift card to a local coffee shop or cafe where they can meet up if desired. The takeaway for this point is that forced events can often feel exclusionary if they don’t appeal to everyone, so just make sure you’re thinking as a whole when planning.
  
  
• Find ways to share stories, lessons, and funny encounters from the field. When in-office, this banter occurred regularly. Now, there may feel like a bit of disconnect where agents don’t have the space or even make the space to share these experiences with each other. As a broker-owner, coach, and often support to your agents, you may hear these tales more often. It’s important to keep the camaraderie flowing beyond yourself. For example, if an agent has told you a funny story, as the broker-owner, take some time to share it with the team via email or in your next team meeting. While not as natural as in-person, it’s still a great way to maintain the social aspect of your team. Replicating this banter in a remote world may feel a bit odd, but some clever folks have found creative ways of making it possible. Check out discourse.org, where your team can have discussions in a forum style beyond chats and emails.
  
  
• Create small groups relevant to your agents’ day-to-day duties, such as a marketing, prospecting, community involvement, or presentation/speaking skills group. Purchase a few online classes or webinars they can take together like these from Udemy. Initiated by you but voluntary and self-managed, these groups are an excellent way for agents to hone their skills, learn from one another, and grow together while benefiting your brokerage.

Additional Helpful material

Discourse.org
Udemy Classes