Realogy is set to unveil its new virtual learning platform for all agents and brands in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company confirmed to Inman. The platform will allow each of the company’s brands to white-label the software and make it unique to each brand as well as offer differentiated tracks for the entire lifecycle of an agent.
Bonnie Sue Lovelace | Photo credit: Realogy
“In the past, agents were being given training [that] was extremely passive,” Bonnie Sue Lovelace, Realogy’s senior director of multimedia and delivery, learning Solutions, told Inman. “It was like a TED talk style where we just talk to them, they would take notes … quite frankly, it really wasn’t making a difference.”
So Realogy set out to entirely revamp the way it educated agents on best practices, industry trends and how to take their business to the next level. There’s a correlation between learning and the profitability of agents, according to Lovelace, and they heard from agents that the current training program simply wasn’t good enough.
“If our platform doesn’t get them to be more productive then it’s not going to work and that’s not going to be good enough for us,” Lovelace said. “Because we know every day they’re waking up and some are living lead by lead, deal by deal, so to take them away from making money, the training has to make a difference.”
The new platform addresses some of the old curriculum’s deficiencies by creating defined pathways for agents, whether they’re new to the business or have been highly successful. It also adds a search function so agents can drill down on specific skills or tools they need to enhance their business.
Inside the platform, which can be accessed via desktop, tablet or smartphone, agents will find hundreds of training courses, as well as coaching opportunities, training materials and other information. The platform uses technology to match agents to specific courses, depending on where they are in their careers, like how to transfer from a single agent to an agent on a team, or best practices for luxury real estate agents.
“Our curriculum is really a pathway, it really gets you to the next level of your business,” Lovelace said. “The platform is really built in a way that is personalized.”
Linda Caicedo | Photo credit: Realogy
The platform also encourages cooperation and interactivity between agents and introduces an accountability measure – what Linda Caicedo, a technical product manager at Realogy, calls the “gamification of learning.”
“It’s just a way to have our agents and our user base get motivated, be proactive, even have a competition amongst themselves,” Caicedo said. “With so many of our courses, we’re tracking their engagement. We’re able to track how competitive they are with each other through the use of a leaderboard and through using badging as well.”
The platform is expected sometime in the fourth quarter of 2019 and will be open to all Realogy brands, like Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Sotheby’s International Real Estate and others on both the franchise and own-side.
Realogy first announced the efforts toward building the new platform at its RGX conference in Las Vegas earlier this year, but few details had emerged about the platform until now.
Educational platforms and tools are often cited as a reason that agents and teams will choose a specific brokerage and others like eXp Realty, Keller Williams and RE/MAX, among others, offer full education platforms with a virtual component.
