Seeff Richards Bay licensee Elaine Chetty, had a simple, yet clear message after the company was spectacularly recognised at the Seeff National Awards for Licensees, held virtually this past week. The Richards Bay branch were confirmed as winners of no fewer than 8 awards for their outstanding performance in 2019.

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This is what Elaine had to say:

On whether she can sum up her emotions after her team was recognised for all those awards…

I am completely overwhelmed. I am happy, ecstatic actually. I am proud. I couldn’t be more proud of my team. We knew that our 2019 performance was special as our figures last year showed an impressive growth over 2018.

When it came to the Awards itself, we arranged that the team watched the virtual event together in our office on the big screen with snacks and some bubbly. There was a buzz of expectation in the air as normally just Silven and I would attend the Licensee Awards.

As the event unfolded and we won some awards, we knew that our 2019 performance was special indeed. Then when we were in the running for the overall Group Licensee of the Year award, by virtue of winning Licensee of the Year for Division 4, the team and obviously I were so thrilled. When it happened, when we were announced as Group Licensee of the Year overall, it was a pure explosion of emotions. The team were standing, shouting, applauding. It was a really, really nice moment.

I actually couldn’t be happier; when we joined the group more than 10 years ago, I couldn’t have dreamed of something like this and I never did, honestly. We are a Division 4 branch. What the team has done over the last few years, the consistency they show, is absolutely incredible and second to none. It is a wonderful moment, that’s the emotion I feel.

What is the secret to the branch’s success?

It isn’t one thing, really. There so much going on to making sure that we are on top of our game when we serve our clients and when we, as an office, serve our team. We pay special attention to creating a sense of family, where every team member feels valued and know that we genuinely care for them and want them to succeed.

Our team are taken care of and our clients equally so. Our systems have been honed over the years and we offer our clients a full supporting role every step of the way in their property journey. Our team have the latest technology at their disposal to make them extremely productive and free them up to delight our clients. Our training regime is relentless as we continuously seek ways to ensure that we are the most knowledgeable and helpful agents in our area.

Having grown our market share to where we sell 1 in 3 homes in Richards Bay, I am satisfied that we are doing most of the basics right. Our recognition at the Awards is also a sign that our strategies are taking us on the right track.

2020 has shown us that we can have all the plans in life but ultimately, it’s out of our hands for most part. We have to just focus on doing the basics right, those things that we can control. It’s easier said than done so it’s our role as the leaders to provide direction to the team.

Our purpose as a company is to ‘ensure that people prosper through property’. This is why we wake up every morning and show up. As leaders, we need to constantly remind ourselves and the team to strive towards this purpose whilst we also earnestly remind them of living out our values of ‘Family, Passion, Integrity, Challenging, Innovation, Excellence and Perseverance’.

On the significance of winning the Group Licensee of the Year Award…

This Award and the other great awards we won this past year is due to the team we have assembled. Every team member plays their part, no matter how small, in ensuring that we delight our clients and support one another. Ultimately, that’s why we exist, to ensure that people prosper through property.

That we win awards along the way is great and reassures us that we are on the right track. Our team deserves every bit of recognition they get as they are superstars, really.

Being a Division 4 branch based on the size of the market we trade in, we come up against some massively successful branches within the group within Southern Africa. To be able to win the Division 4 Licensee of the Year award was a great achievement on its own given the competition in this Division. To then win the overall Group Licensee of the Year award is truly humbling. I’m still buzzing.

We stay learning, though. We will use this as a launch to reinforce what we do right and also improve on areas we know that we can do better on. We cannot sit here thinking that we have arrived. We learn every moment and improve at every moment. As long as we stay true to our purpose, create an environment where our team thrives and focus on service excellence, we will do well.

Seeff Group Licensee of the Year – Wow. I’m humbled and blessed!