Survey Says!

Oct 14, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

Members were asked to use one word to describe RAHB. Here’s what you said:

Milestones – Retirement

Oct 14, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

The Association would like to recognize members who have recently retired after achieving at least 40 years of consecutive membership. If you know of a member who has achieved 40+ years and has recently retired, please contact Camryn in Membership at camrynh@rahb.ca or 905.529.8101 X251.

Congratulations to Joseph Ott (J. Ott Ltd., Brokerage) on his recent retirement!

Introducing George O’Neill

Sep 9, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

If you attended Matrix training at the end of August, you likely saw RAHB’s new CEO at the podium.  George O’Neill started as RAHB’s new CEO on August 24, and managed to make it out to all six training sessions to meet members and give a quick introduction about himself.  Here’s the longer version:

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George takes the helm at RAHB after serving as Managing Partner and Broker of Record of O’Neill Advisors Inc. in Toronto, a Business and Real Estate Brokerage. Having an early avid interest in the role of social media in marketing real estate, George wrote the first RECO approved Social Media Marketing Course for Real Estate and delivered the course to hundreds of REALTORS® across the province of Ontario.  He also chaired annual conferences on real estate marketing and founded the Real Estate Marketing Toronto (reMarkTO) group for information sharing.  The group currently has over 900 members.

Prior to founding his real estate business in 2007, George worked for over twenty years as a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Consulting and for leading Canadian and U.S. companies including Hydro One, Spar Aerospace, McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) and the Manufacturing Technology Centre in business development, mergers and acquisitions, marketing, sales, operations and technology roles.

George holds Master and Bachelor Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick (UNB)
as well as an MBA Degree from Queen’s University.  He is also a Certified Business Intermediary, a designation awarded by the International Business Brokers Association. Active in the local community, George supports various charities and is a director on the Boards of three private corporations and not-for-profit organizations.

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We sat down to have a conversation with George.

Congratulations on becoming RAHB’s new CEO.  You left your own brokerage to come to RAHB.  What prompted you to move from one side of the real estate profession to the other?
Thank you, it is a pleasure and honour to serve our members.  Organized real estate is experiencing a time of immense change, and therefore opportunity.  We are seeing an increased number of skilled and educated practitioners enter the business, perhaps more than during any previous period.  Client expectations are rising, both sales and marketing skills are paramount, and the world is on-line.  Practitioners excel when they are provided the training, tools and support they need.  Our Association is vital, ensuring our members have a modern, robust MLS^® system and related operational processes.  I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to join as RAHB’s CEO just as I was selling my business and thinking about what I would do next in my career.

This is the first time you’ve headed up a not-for-profit organization.  What attracted you to the not-for-profit sector?
Over the years I have worked with member based associations and have found the organizational missions and dynamics both interesting and challenging.  I am a big believer in membership service and of the importance the work our REALTOR^® members provide to their clients and to the community.  I strongly believe in RAHB’s mission:  Empowering REALTORS^® to succeed.

What are your early impressions of RAHB?  Do you already see things you want to work on?
RAHB has a fantastic group of dedicated staff.  Everyone has a choice where they work, and we are fortunate our employees choose to serve you, our members.  As we move forward and your requirements for the services we provide may shift, we will respond and adjust so your Association continues to enable you to continue to serve your clients.

Do you have any major changes you wish to see at RAHB?
At the time of responding to these questions, I have been on the job at RAHB just a few days, so it is far too early to talk about potential major changes.  In the immediate term, we must not lose focus to ensure the upgrade of the Matrix MLS^® system goes smoothly for our members.  That is perhaps the most important activity we are currently undertaking, in addition to of course continuing serving our member’s needs on a daily basis.

Do you have any additional thoughts you’d like to pass on to the members?
RAHB is fortunate to be amongst the leaders in organized real estate associations in Canada.  Our dedicated Board, committed staff, and each and every member contribute to making sure this is a strong Association, second to none.  The staff and management team at RAHB are proud to be a part of your success and I am pleased to be your Association’s CEO.

Honourary Life nominations open

Sep 9, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

Do you know a RAHB member who:

• is a recognized leader in the real estate industry
• has demonstrated exemplary service to organized real estate
• is a person of positive character, integrity and an advocate for ethical real estate practice
• has made a positive contribution to the association over a period of no less than ten years
• exemplifies professionalism in real estate?

If someone springs to mind, then nominate them for Honourary Life Membership in RAHB!

All nominations will be reviewed by the Honourary Life Task Force and the award – if qualified nominations are received – will be made at the Awards Gala in January, 2016.

Find the nomination form and complete information on REALTOR Link® (under Member Services) or at http://rahb.ca/awards/2015/HonouraryLifeForm.pdf.

Deadline for nominations is Friday, November 6, 2015.

… and the Survey says !!!!

Sep 9, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

What do you think about RAHB and RAHB services?

Thanks to the 900 members (that’s 35 per cent of RAHB members!) who responded to the 2014 Member Satisfaction Survey, now we know!

Here are some of the things we learned from you:

• 69% of you are satisfied or very satisfied with RAHB services while 3% of you are dissatisfied with RAHB services.
• Brokers and Managers are more likely to be satisfied with RAHB services, while salespeople are less likely.
• Those of you in very small or medium-sized offices are most likely to be satisfied with RAHB services.
• The higher the level of education you have, the less likely you are to be satisfied with RAHB services.
• RAHB’s top three strengths are communication, MLS® and information
• RAHB’s top three weaknesses are cost, membership, communication

Why does this information matter?

Now that the Directors and RAHB staff know how you feel about the service you receive, what services are important to you and what you expect from the association, we can work toward improving our track record, improving service and meeting your expectations.  We are here, after all, for you.

Can 900 people really represent the opinions of 2700 members?

They can!  The 35 per cent response rate has given us strong, reliable and meaningful information.  The survey was designed and conducted by Framework Partners Inc., a professional polling company with, incidentally, extensive experience in polling for real estate associations across Canada.

In pollster-speak, the response rate of 35% is consistent with a margin of error of +/- 2.7% 19 times out of 20.  In layman’s terms, that’s pretty accurate.

Where can you get more information about the survey results?

On August 18, RAHB members had the opportunity to learn more about the survey results by attending a presentation by Alec Milne of Framework Partners Inc.   The event was also webcast so those who couldn’t make it to the presentation could still watch.

A brief summary of Alec’s presentation can be viewed at rahb.ca/framework/summary.pdf, or you can watch a video rahb.ca/framework/.

More information about the results of the survey will also be printed in REALINFO over the next few months.

So now what?

Your Board of Directors, committee members and staff also met with Alec Milne to gain an understanding of what all the information means.  From that meeting, they developed a number of recommendations for short- and long-term actions which address meeting member expectations and increasing member engagement.

You can expect that the results from the Member Satisfaction Survey will be part of every Board decision about member services going forward.

How does RAHB compare to other associations?

Framework Partners has worked with other real estate associations to determine their levels of member satisfaction.

Framework compared RAHB’s level of member satisfaction with nine other real estate associations.  Other associations’ member satisfaction ranged from a high of 76 per cent (two associations) to a low of 58 per cent.  At 69 per cent, RAHB is tied for fourth place, at only seven points off the top mark.

RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe is retiring!

Aug 7, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

If you ask RAHB CEO Ross Godsoe what he’ll be doing when he retires, you’ll be told in no uncertain terms he isn’t retiring – he’s pursuing other interests.

That may be, but Ross is officially retiring from the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington on August 31, 2015.

Ross joined RAHB as CEO in 2001 and brought with him a wealth of experience from all facets of the real estate industry.  He owned a real estate brokerage in Mississauga for 26 years and was involved in residential and commercial real estate, real estate development and property management.

His time in Organized Real Estate saw him as President of the Mississauga Real Estate Board in 1987.  From there, he became involved on the OREA board, on which he served as president in 1994, and the CREA board, on which he served as president in 2000.  In total, Ross spent 18 consecutive years as a volunteer in three levels of organized real estate.

Just at the time Ross was considering other business opportunities, he became aware of the opening for a CEO at RAHB.  As a businessperson who understood both the business side and member side of real estate, he believed he would be a good fit for the position and the selection committee obviously agreed.

In his years at RAHB, Ross’s primary focus has been member service.   He has overseen two major member service projects – the move from the legacy MLS® system to MLXchange and, more recently, the creation of a regional MLS® System and the move to Matrix.  Ross has also been instrumental in establishing closer relationship with other real estate boards and associations coast to coast (and beyond), and with other organizations which are leaders in the Greater Hamilton-Burlington area.  Ross’s work to foster relationships with service providers resulted in superior technologies and services being offered to RAHB members.

Ross’s special passion is the Home Ownership Affordability Program, or HOAP, a unique program to help families in subsidized housing move into their own homes, with assistance from RAHB and its partners in the HOAP program.  To date, 12 families have become home owners under the HOAP banner.

Ross is the recipient of the prestigious W. Frank Johns Award in recognition of his “dedicated leadership, contributions and support … in developing the professional role and status of executive officers.”

We hope Ross will enjoy many more meetings in the green board room come September.  We know his active involvement in Old Timers hockey will have him in top shape for when the Maple Leafs call him up to their starting line up!

As Ross moves on to new adventures, we all wish him well.

RAHB Nominations: Know any rock stars? (Or maybe you are one!)

Aug 7, 2015 | RAHB News | 0 comments

It may be only August, but your Nomination Committee is already starting to look for members with the skills and desire to join the RAHB Board of Directors.

If you think you have the goods, or know someone who does, just email the committee at nominations@rahb.ca.

Need more information?
Check out this video for a fun look at how the process works: https://youtu.be/giDPOw73vxI

Want to know what qualities RAHB looks for in a Director?
View the list: http://www.realtorlink.ca/content/dam/realtorlink/on/hamilton/
elections/Qualities%20of%20a%20Director.pdf

Want to brush up your leadership skills?  Take Leadership 100.
It’s free and can be accessed from anywhere: http://www.content.crea.ca/leadership/

Milestones – Retirement

Jul 7, 2015 | RAHB News | 1 comment

The Association would like to recognize members who have recently retired after achieving at least 40+ years of consecutive membership.   If you know of a member who has achieved 40+ years and has recently retired, please contact Camryn in Membership at camrynh@rahb.ca or 905.529.8101 X251.

Congratulations to R. H. Bud Murray (Coldwell Banker Pinnacle Real Estate) on his recent retirement!