Team / Team Leader Hiring Process & Standards

These hiring policies are designed to preserve the integrity of our culture, maintain high professional standards, and give team leaders the autonomy to grow their teams responsibly. By setting clear production benchmarks and requiring full-time commitment, we ensure that every agent brought into the company is capable of delivering at a professional level while still leaving room for intentional development and mentorship. The guardrails outlined here strike a balance between empowering team leaders to make fast, independent hiring decisions and protecting the long-term health of the brokerage by holding the line on quality.

1. Core Assumptions

• Cultural Fit: Team leaders are fully trusted to screen potential agents for cultural fit. No oversight is required from management on this dimension.
• Autonomy with Guardrails: Once pre-approved, team leaders can hire agents without running each candidate by management, provided minimum standards are met.

2. Pre-Approval Criteria (Production Standards)

To be eligible for pre-approval, agent candidates must meet one of the following:

• Production Benchmark A:
  • 10 homes sold in the last 12 months (LTM) or in the previous calendar year.
• Production Benchmark B:
  • Sales volume equal to 10× the metro median home price in the same period.
  • Current metro medians:
    • Waco: $300K → $3M minimum volume
    • Austin: $500K → $5M minimum volume

3. Full-Time Status

• Full-Time Only: All agents must be full-time.
• No Part-Time Agents: This is a non-negotiable baseline.

4. Exceptions

• Management Approval Required for exceptions.
• Exceptions may be granted down to roughly 70% of minimum standards:
  • 7 homes in LTM/calendar year, or
  • $2M Waco / $3.5M Austin volume.
• Exceptions must be explicitly documented with rationale (e.g., extraordinary pipeline, unique market position, high upside, etc.).

5. Development Agents (Team-Based Growth)

• Definition: Agents below standards who are intentionally brought on by a team for skill and production development.
• Quota: Each team may have a set number of development agents, established jointly by the team leader and management.
  • Typical range: 1–3 per team.
• Formal Goals Required:
  • Development agents must have written performance goals with:
    • Benchmarks: Specific production and learning milestones.
    • Timeframes: Clear deadlines for evaluation.
  • Progress is reviewed quarterly by both the team leader and management.

6. Hiring Flow

1. Pre-Approved Agents
   • If an agent meets the minimum pre-approval standards, the team leader may move forward.
   • Present the ICA docs to the agent before sending them to leadership for signatures.
2. Development Agents
   • If a team leader has capacity for a development agent (within their allowance), they may proceed without leadership approval.
3. Exception Window Agents
   • If an agent does not meet minimum standards but qualifies under the exception window (≥70%), the team leader must contact leadership for approval prior to offering a position.
4. Adjusting Development Agent Allowance
   • If a team leader wants to change their development agent quota, they must request and receive approval from leadership.
5. Offer & ICA Docs
   • After an offer has been made and accepted:
     • Present the ICA docs to the agent.
     • Refer the agent to leadership for ICA signatures.
6. Onboarding
   • Once ICA docs are signed, the agent may be referred directly to onboarding.