Reflection

Working with Keller Williams Realty has shown me great insight to a large organization. I chose to work with KW because of their nationwide reputation and their passion for innovation. The appearance alone of KW is unlike the local competition. With a bold and sleek brand, this represents their drive for future innovation. Throughout my education I have learned a lot about business strategy. KW distinguishes itself through a competitive advantage. Through this competitive advantage, our goal is to offer all agents value. In real estate, there are many practices applied to different franchises. But KW works directly with each agent to accommodate their needs. This is a strong recruitment tool that has been proven to be beneficial to our company. By offering benefits to our agents, we are encouraging them to own businesses worth having. When our agents receive support, training, and resources, this allows our agents to become more profitable-especially for our branch.

Another reason I decided to approach KW for an internship is because of their culture. KW’s core values are standards to stand by. By having these values, KW is a company with a purpose for its employees and for its customers. Real estate agencies can quickly become lost in the everyday grind of business. But working with KW has shown me an impressive difference. By treating their employees and agents as family, the environment is joyful and hardworking. I have witnessed a real working office, and this culture is extremely encouraging. Having a passion for social entrepreneurship and nonprofits, I was so impressed that KW dedicates a full day to service the community. This day of service is called Red Day and each location, worldwide, participates. This culture not only impacts its staff and agents, but also has a mission to do better for its communities. This strong culture guides this company to success and happiness. KW strives to inspire, not direct. Our management team is dedicated to assisting agent’s in trouble and teaching agents about real estate. This trusted relationship allows our agents to easily approach management and create a valuable business partnership.

Being apart of the management team allowed me to understand people’s behaviors and values. KW takes a special interest in understanding their employees behaviors. These behaviors correlate to job performance and overall commitment. By assessing agents and staff with tests such a “Strengths Finder” and “DISC”, we can understand more about people and how they work. Understanding one’s behavior is strongly correlated to management leadership. Understanding oneself and others allows organizations to understand the human process of working together. Leadership has many different approaches, but by understanding the makeup of its audience can assist a leader’s interaction procedures. Also, by concentrating on behavior, we can innovate our processes and system to excel in this industry. If we cling to traditional processes, we will be left behind.

Communication may seem like a simple topic, but for an organization with over 400 agents, you could assume it can get difficult. Because of the technological changes in today’s communication methods, I have learned that using different social platforms increases and retains engagement from employees. Utilizing email campaigns, drip systems, video messages, and social media allows the management team to interact on many different levels with our employees. This interaction process is beneficial because of the different forms of communication. In today’s world, people are constantly online. By sending formal to informal information to employees we can better connect and embrace relationships.

Keller Williams strives to be the leading real estate agency in the world. So far, they have done a pretty good job of doing so. One of the reasons why KW has been so successful is due to their dynamic makeup. Keller Williams operates under an interdependent format which allows the entire organization to work together as a team. By centralizing certain operations, the agents are capable of focusing their own talents. Keller Williams also invests some of their profits into new technology. For example, our branch has created a system called, Brivity. Brivity is the solution for busy realtors that want to manage, market, and communicate their business. By using this platform, agents can create a more professional relationship with their clients by showing exactly how much work they put in. I have learned through working at KW that people are thirsty for innovation and technology. SImplifying work and going paperless is a common trend. I am proud to have learned and manipulated the system to use as part of the management team. KW is constantly improving their service, systems, and technology. By fostering a culture of education, any agent can learn new skills and apply them to their business. This is an amazing takeaway for me. In my future endeavors, I hope to implement new change and training for my co-workers or employees.

Throughout my educational career, I have been trained to receive feedback. Receiving feedback is critical phase of professional development. One of the hardest processes is to remain emotionally stable when receiving feedback. It is true, feedback can have negative affects on people because it can damage one’s ego. Feedback is an important part of learning and improving. During a college class, we were forced to give constructive feedback to our team members. This exposure to feedback impacted me and some others in a hurtful way. The purpose of feedback is to understand the audience and create deliverables that are exceptional. Feedback IS constructive and one must learn how to accept it. During this internship, I was capable of taking constructive feedback and allowing it to improve my work. Especially for someone who works independently on projects, outside feedback is extremely valuable. I have actually learned how to love feedback and am excited to ask for it in my future endeavors. Feedback and modification is a successful activity of KW. Each employee works together to strengthen each other’s work. Not only does feedback improve one’s work, but it also develops problem solving skills and interpersonal relationships.

Goal setting is a skill that school does not teach. As a young adult, it takes motivated people to set goals and achieve them independently. But goal setting as a business is a key activity. Not only does KW focus on its goals, but it creates and teaches plans that allow one to achieve them. Being part of a sales driven company, I have learned how to modify my behavior and activities to achieve goals. School teaches a student how to stay on track of deliverables. But creating goals and exceeding them is a skill that only a business can teach. Keller Williams confides in goal setting. Setting goals and understanding how to achieve them gives agents the ability to confidently reach them. Through workshops, classes, scripts, teamwork, and activities, KW agents are capable of achieving their goals. Engaging myself in an organization that exceeds norms has also given me the confidence to follow my dreams. By understanding how to achieve a goal, you can better understand yourself. Learning about yourself is an important discovery that can better your life and career. KW has many inspirational workshops that engage people to rediscover what they really want and show them how to get it.