Guesswork, be gone! People Management System updates

At REEF, our motto is “we’re in the business of helping your business” and one of the ways we do this is through our online People Management System. Members who use the system know first hand just how beneficial it is in helping you to better manage your agency’s most important asset – it’s people.

The People Management System has been configured to meet the specific needs of real estate employers and includes a library of more than 100 template documents, letters, agreements and forms to help you streamline your processes and ensure you are compliant. From job descriptions, employment agreements and commission structures to performance appraisals, warning letters and notices of termination, the library of templates covers every aspect of the employment lifecycle.

Put simply, the People Management System takes the guesswork out of managing your employees. To ensure you have access to the best and most up-to-date information – both legally and operationally – we regularly review the library of templates. And that’s just what we’ve been doing over recent months.

As a result of our review, a large number of templates have been amended and updated. Some include structural changes, others now have updated content and there are many with revisions to reflect current standards. We’re committed to ensuring our members have the most accurate and up-to-date information at their fingertips, and will continue to review our People Management System’s library of resources at every opportunity.

 

Employee handbook and selected policies

The template Employee Handbook has been amended and updated, and includes the following revised policies:

• Computer, Internet and Email Policy
• Social Media Policy
• Workplace Surveillance Policy
• EEO, Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy
• Grievance Procedure Policy
• Counselling and Disciplinary Policy
• Leave Policy.

The Leave Policy has been updated with current leave standards and terminology. Members are urged to replace their existing leave policy with this updated version.

The Surveillance Policy is new and is an important addition to the Employee Handbook for contemporary workplaces. And with the revision of the EEO, Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy, the previous standalone discrimination policy has been removed.

The other revised policies are more detailed and prescriptive than previous versions, and we encourage members to adopt these new versions.

TO DO – Take the time to read through the new versions of each of the policies and consider how they apply to your agency. Changes to policies are easily managed and you should encounter very little difficulty when adopting and implementing any new and updated policies that will benefit your agency.

 

Commission and bonus structure templates

Not surprisingly, the commission and bonus structure templates are the most downloaded templates from the People Management System library.

Our lawyers have reviewed the six sales and four property management templates relating to commission and bonus structures. While there are no significant changes to the templates, they’ve been updated to provide more clarity regarding superannuation. An information sheet about the operation of each structure, together with a working example, is now attached to each template. This will help you better understand the operation of different types of commission and incentive-based arrangements.

DEBIT/CREDIT COMMISSION ARRANGEMENTS
While most of the changes to these templates are small, it’s important to note an important change to the commission structure for debit/credit commission arrangements.

In the previous template, the employer’s net commission was split between listing and selling (e.g. 50 per cent listing, 50 per cent selling) and the employee was then credited with an agreed percentage (e.g. 45 per cent).

The requirement to split the employer’s net commission has been removed in the new template. Instead, the new structure simply requires employers to allocate an agreed percentage to each component of the sale for which the salesperson was responsible; i.e. a percentage for listing the property, a percentage for managing the listing, a percentage for finding a buyer etc. The total of these components becomes the commission credited to the salesperson for the sale and should not, except in exceptional circumstances, exceed 45 per cent of the employer’s net commission.

It’s important to note that this structural change to the debit-credit commission template doesn’t require new commission structures to be prepared for existing employees. It is, however, a new style of template that we urge you to use for any new employees.

TO DO – If you’ve downloaded a previous version of the debit/credit commission template to your desktop or another folder, please delete it and replace it with the new version.

 

Other important changes

• Employment agreement – Commission only: Item 11 of the Employment Agreement - Commission only has been updated to provide more clarity regarding superannuation.
• Post-employment – Reminder: This new document has been added to our library of termination documents. It's a template letter that members can provide to a departing employee to remind them about any post-employment obligations they may have.

 

Questions?

If you have any questions or would like to seek clarification about any of the changes made to the templates, please contact REEF Membership Services Director Greg Paterson by calling 1300 616 170 or emailing greg@reef.org.au.