Houston leadership plays key role in RDC event
Houston is home to some very prominent leaders within the real estate and relocation industries.
Not only are they recognized locally, but they are frequently tapped to provide leadership on a national level in organizations like the Relocation Directors Council (RDC).
This was evidenced at last month’s RDC Spring Event, which was held in Dallas and attended by approximately 150 relocation directors from around the country.
Patricia Pollard, executive manager, relocation client relations, at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene, serves as RDC’s 2018 president.
She said that RDC cultivates a very collaborative environment, where members openly discuss common issues, share best practices, and work together to continually raise the bar for the services that they provide to their relocation clients.
The theme of the event was: “Make it happen. Testing the limits of our comfort zone.”
“I believe that in day-today business, we all have situations that test the limits of our comfort zone,” Pollard said. “So, it’s about constantly challenging ourselves, and thinking about the path we really want to be on, and where we really want to go in our careers and our personal lives. We have to think about what we really want and where we want to be, and challenge ourselves, so that we’re taking steps to get there.”
She added that her participation in RDC has allowed her to share her experiences, while being able to learn from so many of her peers in the process.
“Our business is changing so rapidly, so it’s more important than ever for us to be as transparent as possible with our peers, and to learn as much as possible from each other. We want our industry to remain strong, viable and relevant. The best way to do that is to share best practices, and failures, and explore the reasons why something did or didn’t work, and to be willing to share that,” said Pollard.
Kirsten Abney, senior vice president at Heritage Texas Properties, serves on the RDC board of directors along with Pollard. She echoed Pollard’s remarks about the value of participation in RDC, because it promotes the open exchange of ideas and information among its members.
“Regardless of what market we are in, we all face many of the same challenges every day in this industry,” Abney said. “So, what you find with an organization like RDC, is that people are going to get out of it, what they put into it.”
Additionally, she said that there are two things that are important to highlight about RDC.
“First, there are the best practices that you come back with that help you continue to improve how you service your clients every day. The second piece, which is equally as critical, is the opportunity to re-energize yourself as an individual, and to grow professionally. When you have the opportunity to step outside of the day-today and work on the business, instead of in the business, that helps everybody,” said Abney.
She also commended the mutual respect that Houston RDC members have for one another, through their willingness to share information with members who are also their competitors. She said that it speaks volumes for the leaders in this market.
“We are in a market, where there are multiple competitors, and we know that there will probably be a time when we are also asked to work together as partners for a client,” Abney said. “We are competitors, but we are also partners, and we have an amazing group of people in this industry here in Houston.”
This was demonstrated by the panel discussion moderated by Tess Chaney, relocation director for Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty, who also served on the RDC Spring Planning Committee.
The panel discussion was entitled: “Business Continuity in the Midst of Disaster.”
She said that the panel discussion was a good example of the way that RDC events provide educational opportunities for members to address critical issues, and offer solutions that can help all members.
“At RDC, we talked about sensitive and timely topics within a large group of industry professionals, who shared their stories on how they can help each. In this panel discussion, we talked about how we can be better prepared when unexpected things happen, such as natural disasters,” said Chaney. “When a crisis happens, normal operations are disrupted, and a business continuity plan is essential to carry out critical functions for your company or clients. These events could either be catastrophe that you are routinely prepared for, or something completely uncontrolled. So, it’s important to cross-train your team, so that you are able to keep operating in the event of crisis.”
For more information about RDC, please visit: www.relocationdirectorscouncil.org.