Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE), the network supporting top-tier independent brokerage members in the U.S. and internationally, took first place in Training magazine’s 2018 Top 125, a list honoring “organizations with the most successful learning and development programs in the world” across industries. LeadingRE provides training resources for 565 firms and 130,000 sales associates around the world producing close to $370 billion annually.
Meanwhile, real estate franchisor Keller Williams was inducted into the Training Top 10 Hall of Fame at this week’s Gala in Georgia, an honor given only to those who rank in the Top 10 for four consecutive years. The Austin, Texas-based company with over 170,000 associates ranked first in 2015 and 2017, and second in 2014 and 2016.
“For 35 years, Gary Keller has been saying we’re a training and coaching organization disguised as a real estate company,” said John Davis, CEO and president, Keller Williams in a company press release. “Thanks to his vision and commitment to investing in our people, we’ve been able to help our associates grow their businesses and create opportunities to fund their lives.” The Training Top 125 is strongly focused on the linkage between training and achievement of corporate strategic goals, Keller Williams said in the release.
LeadingRE CEO and president Pam O’Connor, who announced her retirement from the organization in January and will step down on March 31, explained what characterizes the LeadingRE training program.
“We try to weave the training into all aspects of the company — it’s not just the learning platform, but the Maestro leadership program,” O’Connor told Inman. “We also do a lot of white papers based on research, and we share the insights. We have done a project about consumer segmentation, which is about understanding the buying behaviors of certain personas — that was the project this year which we highlighted.”
LeadingRE’s learning platform, Institute, offers 350 online courses including certification for sales, service, leadership, marketing and relocation. The organization also recently launched the LeadingRE Agent Accelerator, powered by Ninja Selling. LeadingRE holds an annual conference as well as a summit for its luxury arm, Luxury Portfolio.
The organization is trying to raise the bar for real estate agents, developing their competencies in counseling the consumer, said O’Connor. “It’s so important today, consumers expect more, they are savvier,” she said.
While its training could be described as consumer-centric, O’Connor said: “If we can help the frontline people, the agents, create a better experience for the end user, who is writing the check, then we are serving both the agent and the consumer.”
Following behind LeadingRE on the 2018 Training Top 125 were New York Community Bancorp, Sonic Automotive, BNSF Railway Company, and Dollar General Corporation.
