2. Selection of licensees and employees
Given the ethical obligations to supervise the real estate agency’s licensees and employees, it is even more important that their selection and recruitment process be thorough.
Since the oversight and supervision required of agency executive officers must be tailored to the specific profile and needs of each broker, it is crucial that they know their brokers well from the time of their selection and recruitment. They can then integrate them properly into the real estate agency and ensure that they act in a compliant manner. By participating in the broker selection process, the agency executive officer ensures that those who meet these requirements are chosen.
Therefore, the agency executive officer must implement a licensee selection process. This selection process shall include verification of the accuracy of the information provided by the licensee and his probity. For this purpose, the agency executive officer must verify:
- Competence
- Integrity and honesty
- References provided and work history
- Reasons for termination of contract or dismissal from an agency if applicable
- Reasons why the broker changes agencies
- Penal and criminal record
- Disciplinary record with the OACIQ or any professional order
- Financial situation and bankruptcy history
- Other professional activities
- Whether the broker is a shareholder or director of a legal person
- Validation of his GST/QST numbers
- Etc.
It is important to take the time to examine the broker's profile and activities, including his skills and experience, to establish from the outset the customized supervision that should be provided.
Therefore, before integrating a new broker into the agency, it would be appropriate to ask him if he has already been inspected and, if so, to review with him the content of the report(s) posted on his record on synbad.com.
Verifications made as part of the selection process may reveal that the licensee poses a risk to the real estate agency and the protection of the public. Depending on the risk, the agency executive officer must adapt the level of supervision to be implemented. If the risk is too high compared to the supervisory capacity of the agency executive officer and the agency itself, the licensee should not be hired.
A similar screening process must also be implemented for hiring any employee or person authorized to act on behalf of a licence holder.
Good to know
It is in the best interest of agency executive officers to inform in advance anyone who wishes to become a broker of the declarations to be made as part of a licence issuance application and of the ins and outs of certain elements. In fact, conditions or restrictions may be imposed on the licence under certain circumstances. Licence issuance may even be refused by the Licence Issue and Maintenance Committee (LIMC) based on the analysis and findings made. Consequently, the agency executive officer must inform applicants that a criminal record or bankruptcy may affect the issuance of a licence. He shall review the declarations on the licence issuance application on oaciq.com.
