Recently, Arianna Huffington, Founder of the Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global, reported on a new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation from The Business Roundtable.
This association of top American CEOs created a pledge to deliver long-term value to all stakeholders and consumers, invest in employees, and support the communities they serve. Huffington says this pledge fundamentally shifts the role of business in the world.
While this may be true for the likes of Johnson & Johnson and JPMorgan Chase, these principles were woven into the fabric of EXIT Realty Corp. International at its inception 23 years ago. We don’t have to take a pledge to redefine the role of business. Because as a smart, nimble, privately held company, EXIT Realty has been reinventing real estate for more than two decades.
Consumers want a trusted advisor to guide them through the real estate transaction. This isn’t news to EXIT. Our focus has always been on developing our people to be better at who they are first so they can, in turn, be better at what they do.
We provide training on personality types so they can deliver an “experience” to the consumer, uniquely tailored to that individual based on his or her preferences, wants and needs. We provide relevant and timely live and on-demand training so our associates can learn the way they want to learn in order to stay ahead of the curve and help their clients seize opportunities.
Are we investing in our people? You bet we are.
From the company’s inception, the real, live human beings of our franchise support department (not artificial intelligence or digital robots) have supported our broker/owners and their administrators on all things EXIT. In 2010, we saw an opportunity to add value, so at a time when most companies were tightening their belts and cutting back on the live support they provided, but EXIT expanded our franchise support department to include agent support. Any EXIT associate can speak to a member of our expert support team to get answers. We are connected to thousands of associates this way because we want them to know they have a voice and we’re listening.
Are our associates stakeholders in our company? You bet they are.
When EXIT Realty’s fee structure was established, two unique components were built in. We set aside a portion of every transaction fee received in order to pay it forward in the form of an administrative bonus to the support staff in the offices where the transactions were closed. These individuals are not employed by EXIT Realty Corp. International, yet we pay them a bonus because we believe that a strong Administrator and support staff are the backbone of a successful real estate brokerage and we want them to know how much we value their contribution to our success.
Are our Administrators also stakeholders in our company? You bet they are.
In addition, a portion of every transaction fee received by EXIT Realty Corp. International is pledged to charity. We originally worked solely with Habitat for Humanity because their philosophy of giving a hand up rather than a handout fit so well with ours.
EXIT Realty is an ever-evolving work in progress, so we kept asking effective questions like, How can we reach more people? How can we make a greater impact? And the answers came in 2017 when we launched the Spirit of EXIT Dollar-for-Dollar Matching program. Any EXIT associate can raise funds for a local, approved, registered charity and apply to have those funds matched from the company’s pledged pool of funds.
Non-profit organizations that have benefited from the Spirit of EXIT include those supporting the victims of domestic violence, food banks, veterans’ charities, and relief funds, cancer research, Habitat for Humanity, animal welfare organizations, and many more. Participating in a Spirit of EXIT initiative unites people and contributes to our incredible culture. Huffington quotes a Fortune study that reports 64% of consumers “say that a company’s primary purpose should include ‘making the world better’”. To date, EXIT Realty Corp. International has pledged $5.5 million to charity.
Are we helping to make the world better? You bet we are.
EXIT’s unfair competitive advantage — the thing that sets us apart from every other real estate company — is the EXIT Formula. Only EXIT associates have the opportunity to earn single-level residual income now when they want to retire or take a break from selling real estate, and they can even leave a legacy. Our associates create lives for themselves with the freedom and flexibility to travel, take time off for parental leave, care for aging parents, and pay their bills when they’re sick. The EXIT Formula is the foundation upon which our associates can build family wealth and financial freedom.
Are we providing long-term value for our people? You bet we are.
While the CEOs of major corporations are making headlines with their pledge, EXIT Realty has been living it for 23 years. We are a company that was founded and built on human potential and we will continue to put people first, then, now and always.