Every month, Kate Teves, HR consultant, recruiter and founder of The HR Pro, answers Realtors’ questions about anything and everything related to human resources. Have a question for Kate? Send her an email.
Question: How can brokerages and teams navigate recruitment and retention challenges in the current market conditions?
Kate: As the market continues to shift in many regions across the country, the ripple effects go far beyond transactions and property values. While much of the focus remains on agents navigating tighter margins and longer sales cycles, there’s another, less-discussed challenge emerging behind the scenes: the recruitment and retention of support staff within brokerages and teams.
Administrative coordinators, marketing assistants, client care specialists, office managers and staging professionals are the pillars of many high-performing real estate businesses. But in today’s market, both leaders and candidates are more hesitant than ever to make a move to commitment, while staff already employed in the industry are looking for the emergency exit.
An all-way hesitation
With new listings up and the sales-to-new-listings ratio dropping, the market has become increasingly competitive, yet slower-paced. Broker-owners and team leads are wary of adding overhead without guaranteed returns and a clear vision of what the markets will likely be doing. The questions circulate: ”Can we afford to take on someone new? Will this hire bring the ROI we need, and how quickly? Maybe we can function with what we have?”. In many cases, these concerns lead to delays in recruitment decisions or settling for temporary solutions that ultimately cause more disruption than stability.
On the flip side, job seekers, especially those already employed, are equally hesitant. Candidates are acutely aware of the changing market conditions and often sense when a business is operating in survival mode. It is particularly clear when the compensation rates are below market averages for similar positions, and yet the job description seems to encompass a few different roles simultaneously.
To add insult to injury, internal tensions and turnover will often follow. This hesitation and instability don’t just affect hiring. They also affect retention. When leadership is uncertain, vague, or reactive, existing staff begin to question their own job security in the brokerage and the industry as a whole. Key staff departing the business can further destabilize the team and put even more pressure on already overextended operations and support roles.
Now that we have outlined the issues, let’s discuss the solutions, and we will begin the conversation with the existing staff and retention.
Embracing transparency and team involvement
The solution isn’t just more planning—it’s more honesty.
Now more than ever, leaders need to acknowledge that challenges exist. Pretending that everything is fine or trying to “power through” in silence erodes trust. Instead, inviting your team into the conversation creates a culture of ownership and resilience.
Ask your staff these questions during your next office huddle:
- What has always worked well for our agents? What can we be doing better?
- What services have we not offered yet? Where are the gaps?
- What ideas do they have for improving systems, communication, or client service?
You’d be surprised how invested people become when they feel seen, heard, and trusted to help shape solutions. Transparency doesn’t weaken leadership—it strengthens it.
All-around vision and resilience win the long game
Now more than ever, candidates are evaluating leadership before making a career decision, and current employees are doing the same. The businesses that will come out ahead in 2025 won’t be the ones that avoid hiring or hunker down indefinitely.
They’ll be the ones that:
- Clearly articulate a vision that inspires confidence, even when the market is shaky. When your team knows that you and the business are here to stay and fight the challenges, they will be hesitant to move to another business that might not display the same dedication.
- Face challenges head-on and communicate openly with their teams; instead of waiting to see what happens next, the leaders must be present and solution-focused.
- Involve staff in building stronger systems and solutions. This has proven to be an effective business strategy across multiple industries. Having staff who are empowered to present solutions builds buy-in and engagement.
- Lead with empathy and resilience, recognizing that growth often comes through discomfort.
Because at the end of the day, there are no tariffs on resilience. And in this industry, resilience paired with clarity is the most valuable asset any team can offer, internally and externally.
Kate Teves is the founder and COO of the HR Pro, a recruiter and a Human Resources Professional who focuses on the real estate industry by finding incredible people to support solopreneurs, teams and brokerages. She also helps leaders and managers build HR processes and design a culture and mindset that facilitate business growth and employee development.