My wife Heejin recently received the below text from an agent:
“I just LOVE your team. You and Jay did good. These people are such beautiful souls. Jenna really helped me yesterday with some issues that were encumbering being able to sign some disclosures and she was so kind, upbeat, and loving.
Makes such a difference when things are “challenging” and not working. Same with Meg, Jennifer and Madeline – A+++
I acknowledge you and Jay for all of your hard work and for creating something (JVM) that contributes to the quality of life for others and moves the needle for what’s possible in business. You inspire me.”
A bit touchy-feely? Yes :)
Deserved? Heck yeah, b/c we go waaay out of our way to hire genuinely “nice” people.
In 2016, I blogged about The Extreme Need for Nice, discussing my “Dent Man” and focusing on the customer aspect only, but there is so much more.
CULTURE
We have made the mistake a few times of hiring extremely talented and accomplished people even though they did not come across as congenial as our other team members. We mistakenly believed that our overall “niceness” would rub off on them, but it didn’t. As a result, our culture was destroyed and the cost was enormous.
TRUST
One of the defining aspects of a healthy culture is “trust.” I read time and again in management books that trust among team members improves productivity more than anything else. And niceness fosters that trust.
ENJOYING WORK
I quite literally LOVE going to work every day and it is b/c our team members are so enjoyable. I would have it no other way.
DEFINING “NICE”
Our definition of “nice” simply means courteous, engaging, accountable and friendly – almost all of the time – even when it is really hard (the true test). It does not mean passive or being a pushover. Our team members push back on me all the time, and I love it b/c it is necessary for a healthy business and b/c they do it in a courteous manner.
ASSESSING “NICE”
We have a friend who owns a large real estate brokerage and his hiring policy is simply “No A**holes!” :)
That seems to work for him, but our criteria is a bit more refined. Every JVM candidate goes through three rounds of interviews in front of panels. Our panelists are all instructed to carefully assess “congeniality” via engagement, communication style, follow-up’s (thank you’s), and even relationships (teased out with interview questions).
We also avoid very high “D’s” on DISC (personality) Tests. I mention this often but Heejin and I are both “99% D’s” and we were both horrifically bad team members b/c we were far too opinionated, assertive, ambitious, and you name it. I might add that we’ve changed, at our team’s insistence of course.
If you want to see how JVM’s “Nice” works, please send us a referral or your own loan and you can see it in action :)
Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 01524255, NMLS# 310167
