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Real Estate Recruiting Playbook: How Brokerages Hire After Major Conversions

UUnknown

2026-02-17

10 min read

A recruiter’s playbook to hire and onboard hundreds of agents after major conversions — rapid readiness, surge sourcing, cohort onboarding, and culture-preserving tactics.

Hook: When a conversion lands 200–1,200 new agents, recruiting can't be improvisational

You've just inherited a wave of agents after a major conversion — like the REMAX conversions that added roughly 1,200 agents and 17 offices in Toronto in late 2025, or leadership shifts at firms such as Century 21 New Millennium that trigger strategic hiring moves. Your pain points are familiar: how to source qualified talent fast, onboard hundreds without chaos, preserve culture, and keep license, MLS and compliance intact. This playbook gives in-house recruiters and agency partners a repeatable, data-backed process to scale hiring and onboarding during expansion events.

Executive summary — what to do first (inverted pyramid)

Rapid readiness audit — get licensing, E&O, MLS transfers and payroll aligned in 48–72 hours.
Surge sourcing — convert inactive lists, internal referrals and targeted outreach into a candidate pool within 7–10 days.
Cohort onboarding — standardize a 0–30–60–90 day onboarding play with tech onboarding, compliance, and mentorship.
Culture preservation — deploy leader integrations, culture ambassadors and communication rhythms immediately.
Measure & iterate — track activation KPIs and agent retention weekly for the first 6 months.

Why this matters in 2026 — market context and trends

Broker consolidation continued through 2024–2025 and accelerated into 2026. Major brand conversions and leadership transitions (for example, REMAX's 2025 Toronto conversions and Century 21 New Millennium's 2025 leadership changes reported by industry sources) are creating frequent hiring spikes. At the same time, recruiters face new realities:

AI-driven sourcing: Automated candidate discovery and outreach are mainstream — use AI to scale personalization without diluting quality.
Skills & activity-based KPIs: Brokerages focus on activation (first 30-day listings, CRM logins) rather than vanity hires.
Remote and hybrid agent models: Onboarding must support virtual closers and geographically dispersed teams.

Playbook part 1 — Rapid readiness: legal, license, and ops in 72 hours

Start here. Without licensing, MLS access and E&O coverage, agents can't transact — and delays create churn.

Create a Red Team: 4–6 people from legal, compliance, brokerage ops, IT, and HR who meet twice daily until the first 7 days are complete.
Checklist to finish in 48–72 hours:
- Confirm state/provincial license transfer procedures and timelines.
- Verify MLS transfers and expedite transfers.
- Confirm E&O insurance coverage and set up bulk purchasing if needed.
- Prepare payroll/1099 templates and tax documentation.
- Prepare legal transition documents and franchise disclosures.
Communication sprint: Publish a one-page FAQ to every incoming agent within 24 hours. Address license steps, CRM access, lead distribution, and who to contact for urgent matters.

Playbook part 2 — Talent sourcing at scale

When hundreds of seats open or convert, sourcing must be diversified and automated. Use a multi-channel funnel and prioritize quick converts.

Channels that work fastest

Internal reactivation — re-engage former agents and inactive registrants. Prioritize those with prior transactions in last 24 months.
Referrals — expand agent referral bonuses for a limited window (e.g., $1,000–$3,000 or equivalent leads/marketing credits).
Targeted social ads — hyper-local ads on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok using lookalike audiences of your top producers; integrate with your ad stack and CRM routing rules to ensure leads go to the right cohort.
LinkedIn Recruiter + InMail — target licensed agents with relevant experience and recent activity signals.
Vendor pools & RPO partners — activate agency partners with surge SLAs for 7–14 day turnarounds.

AI and automation tricks

Use AI to personalize outreach at scale: snippets of a recruiting pitch that reference the agent's recent listings or social post.
Automate scheduling with Calendly/HubSpot to reduce friction — aim for 48-hour interview windows. For quick mobile scheduling and companion tools, see templates for exhibitor and event apps.
Use chatbots on career pages to pre-qualify by license status, transaction history and preferred market — small companion apps and chat templates can accelerate intake (CES companion apps).

Outreach template (short)

Hi [Name], quick congrats — we just added 16 GTA offices to REMAX's network and are onboarding leaders now. Would love to share the referral, lead and tech perks we'd offer your business. 15 minutes? — [Recruiter Name]

Playbook part 3 — Vetting employers & job posts (for your careers page and agency partners)

Job posts for agents must be precise: highlight value, not just commission split. Agents decide on support and leads first.

What to include in a high-converting agent job post

Clear value proposition: leads per month, marketing budget, CRM access, training cadence.
Support details: transaction coordination, admin support, team leads.
Compensation framework: splits, caps, desk fees, and any limited-time sign-on incentives.
Onboarding timeline: 0–7 day essentials, 30-day activation targets, 90-day business plan.
Culture & leadership: short bios for leadership (e.g., Kim Harris Campbell at Century 21 New Millennium) and links to leader messages.
Clear CTA: Book a 15-min intro or submit license and transaction history for fast-track review.

How to vet an employer as a recruiter

Confirm leadership stability: recent leadership appointments (like Century 21’s 2025 CEO change) can be positive if leaders have scale experience.
Assess tech stack: CRM, lead distribution, and marketing automation must be enterprise-class.
Validate brand promise: are lead claims supported by metrics? Ask for conversion-to-transaction rates.
Check agent sentiment: surveys, Glassdoor reviews, and local broker feedback.

Playbook part 4 — Onboarding hundreds: structure, cohorts, and the 0–30–60–90 plan

Onboarding hundreds is a logistics problem and a cultural problem. Treat it as both.

0–7 days: Rapid activation (must-do list)

Issue credentials to CRM, email, brokerage intranet.
Complete compliance modules and E&O confirmation.
Distribute marketing starter kit: bio template, headshot guidelines, social templates.
Deliver lead distribution plan and expected lead volumes.
Host a launch town hall with senior leadership and local office leaders.

Day 8–30: Enablement & first transactions

Weekly cohort training sessions: CRM workflows, listing input, CMA tools, digital marketing.
Pair each new agent with a mentor or team lead for the first 30 days.
Set activation KPIs: CRM login, 1st listing in 30 days, 10 touchpoints/week.

30–90 days: Retention & growth

One-on-one business planning sessions at day 45.
Advanced selling workshops and specialty training (luxury, rentals, commercial).
Measure retention at 60 and 90 days and deploy targeted interventions for attrition risk.

Playbook part 5 — Culture integration during scale

Conversions can feel like acquisitions. Preserve the best of both cultures and make a new shared identity visible fast.

Leader spotlighting: amplify new leaders’ stories publicly — a model used when the Risi family transitioned Royal LePage firms into REMAX in 2025.
Culture ambassadors: appoint 1–3 agents per office as points of contact.
Micro-events: 45-minute local meetups in the first 30 days to build relationships — use resilient hybrid pop-up tactics for mixed in-person/virtual cohorts (hybrid pop-ups).
Shared rituals: weekly wins newsletter, monthly recognition for top service metrics (not only sales).
Transparent roadmaps: a 90-day roadmap shared with every agent reduces uncertainty and churn.

Playbook part 6 — Metrics & dashboards that matter

Move past hires and track activation and retention. The following KPIs should be visible every morning during the surge and in weekly reviews thereafter:

Time-to-activate (CRM login date relative to hire date)
30-day listing rate (% of new agents with at least 1 listing)
First closing time (days to first closed transaction)
Agent churn at 30/60/90 days
Net promoter score (NPS) for onboarding experience

Agency partners: your SLA and surge model

If you operate as an RPO or staffing partner, your clients will evaluate you on speed, quality and systems integration.

Service-level agreement essentials

Turnaround time: candidate submittals within 48–72 hours of role opening.
Activation checklist: verified license, MLS eligibility and first 30-day plan before placement.
Dedicated account team: single point of contact for escalations during the surge.
Data sharing: access to live dashboards and weekly recruitment pipeline reviews. Consider secure storage and scalable hosting for training media (object storage) and content backups (cloud NAS).

Retention incentives that work in the first year

Graduated sign-on packages: combination of marketing dollars, lead credits and reduced desk fees for the first 6 months.
Performance guarantees: if no transaction in 90 days, provide free coaching + additional marketing credit.
Community-based incentives: local office trips, recognition events and agent-first committees. See the Micro-Recognition Playbook for low-cost, high-impact recognition mechanics.

Real-world examples & lessons from recent conversions

Two examples from 2025–2026 highlight practical lessons:

REMAX Toronto conversions (late 2025): REMAX added ~1,200 agents and 17 offices when two Royal LePage firms transitioned under the Risi family's leadership. Key moves: retention through leadership continuity (the Risi family stayed in charge), an accelerated tech and marketing rollout, and public messaging from the REMAX CEO to reinforce brand and strategy.
Century 21 New Millennium leadership change (2025): Appointing a CEO with a national brokerage background (Kim Harris Campbell) while transitioning founders into board roles signaled stability and a focus on growth — a critical signal that helps recruiters attract talent who want both legacy relationships and a new growth engine.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Pitfall: Overloading leaders with interviews during surge.
- Fix: Train office leaders to use a standard 15-minute screening script; reserve 1-hour interviews for finalists.
Pitfall: Poor communication about lead flow and compensation.
- Fix: Publish real lead metrics and sample commission scenarios to set expectations.
Pitfall: Neglecting compliance transfers (MLS, E&O).
- Fix: Put compliance at the top of the launch checklist with daily status updates — and follow conversion transfer guides for client lists and commission handling (transfer guidance).

Technology stack checklist for a smooth surge

Enterprise CRM with automated onboarding workflows (e.g., follow-ups, tasks)
Single sign-on (SSO) for email, agent portal and MLS access
Learning management system (LMS) for policy and skills modules
Video hosting for on-demand training and town halls — pair with a field-tested kit for live and recorded sessions (camera & kit toolkit).
Analytics dashboard (real-time activation & churn)

Final checklist — the 72-hour play

Red Team formed and meeting cadence set
Agent FAQ published
Credentials and compliance confirmed for first cohort
Launch town hall scheduled
Sourcing funnel live (reactivation, referrals, ads, agency partners)
Onboarding cohorts scheduled for weeks 1–4
KPIs and dashboard standing up

Closing perspective: scale without losing what matters

Major conversions and leadership shifts create opportunity and risk. Recruit fast, but recruit to activate. Onboard at scale, but humanize the experience through cohorts, mentorship and clear communication. Preserve culture by elevating leaders and giving agents tangible support in the first 90 days. Use the 72-hour readiness sprint, diversified sourcing funnel, cohorted onboarding and data-driven KPIs in this playbook as your default play for any surge.

"Their decision reflects the strength of the REMAX brand and reinforces our current strategic direction," said REMAX's CEO when welcoming new leaders — a reminder that credibility and public signals matter when you bring people into a larger network.

Actionable next steps (for in-house recruiters and agency partners)

Run the 72-hour readiness audit now — assign your Red Team and publish the agent FAQ within 24 hours.
Launch a triaged sourcing funnel: internal reactivation + referrals first, paid ads second.
Design a 0–30–60–90 onboarding template and run your first cohort in week one.
Stand up a live KPI dashboard and review daily for 2 weeks, then weekly for 3 months.

Call to action

If you're preparing for a conversion or leadership-driven hiring sprint, download our free 72-hour readiness checklist and cohort onboarding templates. Or, schedule a 20-minute strategy session with our brokerage recruiting team — we'll map a bespoke surge plan and SLA for your market in 48 hours.

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