[rvolk75]

Hey guys,

I know many of you who have teams, have a manual that a Realtor must sign when joining the team/brokerage. What do you include in your manual? Is there a sample? What does the manual consists of?

If any of you have a manual that they wouldn't mind sharing, please email me at russellvolk @ ephiladelphiarealestate.com. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

[donnalong]

Do you mean a manual or do you mean a team contract? I think of the contract for team members to sign but I think of a manual as being something we might teach from.

[rvolk75]

I'm talking about the "Policies and Procedures" manual. Something that outlines what an agent must do and the guidelines they have to follow.

Hope that helps.

[donnalong]

OK, we have a 1 page team contract that outlines the duties of the team member. Our company has a policy and procedures manual so we don't feel like we need that.

We are trying to develop a best practices manual to help our team members be more successful.

I don't know if any of this would be helpful to you but we are willing to share.

[First Time Home Buyers]

I think this kind of document you are referring to is usually given out by the brokerage.

[rvolk75]

Hi Donna,

If you could email that to me, that would be great.

I'm in the process of starting my brokerage and around September, I'll start interviewing agents. I need something that I can refer to.

Thanks in advance.

[NY RE Broker]

Russell (and Donna)

Policy Manuals and Contracts are Proprietary Information. You can both find yourself in a wold of financial hurt by sharing that stuff.

When starting a Brokerage the first thing you need is a Good Attorney! Seriously, maybe PA is not as bad as NY, but all the same, in this business you want an attorney that is familiar with your company. There are hundreds of things to consider in a Policy and Procedure manual and most are due to local (state) law so using one from another state will leave you wide open for a lawsuit. There are companies that will provide you one that covers the basics, but you still need to add to this. You can start here: http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg112


My attorney updates me about every 3-4 months on a new legal issue I must address with agents. As I've said in other threads, running a brokerage is not the same as listing and selling homes. Here are some issues I've had to deal with. Agent romances an agent from another company, Agents acting outside of their authority, Agent (with good intentions) uses a prohibited advertising word when describing a house.

Some policies you need to have in place. Drug & Alcohol Policy, Vehicle Policy, Dating Policy, Training Policy, Fair Housing Policy, Advertising Policy. One you should never forget...Termination Policy/Contract.

Sounds like a headache, but what you are doing is CYA. Remember, these agents will be working under you. That means EVERYTHING they do will fall under YOUR responsibility. If they get in trouble with the state, So Do You!

Please Don't skimp in this department.

[donnalong]

@NY RE Broker

Our own best practices are not proprietary. The policy and procedures manual may be proprietary but it is not top secret and I think anyone could take a look at it that wanted to.

So I think he would be welcome to look at anything we had in order to get ideas for developing his own resources.

That said....I wholeheartedly agree with the rest of what you said. It is vitally important to develop a strong policy and procedures manual.