Coldwell Banker Case Study
Background
In an industry where sales serve as the measuring stick of success, and agents are responsible for closing deals, personal performance is key. A leader in the real estate industry, Coldwell Banker has over 112,000 Sales Associates operating from more than 3,500 residential and commercial real estate offices.
Recognizing that agent performance drives the company’s success, Coldwell Banker focuses on advancing their personnel through the effective and scientifically valid methods provided by TalentQuest. The company utilizes our assessment tools for assistance in making decisions that range from assessing management potential to succession planning to guiding the coaching and development of their real estate agents.
The Challenge
As one of the first large real estate companies, Coldwell Banker realized that there was a strong need to identify, promote, and develop their vast talent pool. In approaching TalentQuest, Coldwell Banker sought to incorporate our proven methods into their talent management practices. Initially, the company focused upon its top tier of executives and subsequently employed our high-achieving methodology throughout the company.
Methods
TalentQuest tackled the challenge of identifying top performers through multiple methods beginning with regular and behavioral interviews of the executive team which were then transcribed and coded through lexicon analysis. From these coded results, we performed statistical analyses and built competency models to separate average performers from exceptional performers. At this point, industry appropriate scenarios and role plays were developed for use in identifying top management candidates both within and outside the company. A Peak Performer Profile™ was then developed for the Sales Associate position and serves as a benchmark for the calculation of an agent’s Similarity Index (SI) score. Validity studies have shown that individual performance is directly related to an agent’s Similarity Index score, with agents who score in the 90-99.99 range earning twice as much as those whose SI score is in the 70-79.99 range. Subsequently, these methods and tools were incorporated at all levels within Coldwell Banker and eventually used for succession planning and for the selection of Sales Associates.
