September is REALTOR Safety Month, and whether you’re conducting showings and open houses, closing transactions, or navigating cyber threats, considering safety is essential. Having a checklist to follow can help you ensure the safety of your business, your clients, and yourself. This compilation of tips provides everything you need to do just that.
1. Establish a Safety Program & Culture
NAR urges offices to adopt a Safety Program Roadmap, including tools like checklists, Action Plans, and the REALTOR® Safety Pledge to embed safety into daily routines. For brokers, NAR recommends frequently reviewing a customized Office Safety Action Plan and sharing safety data, infographics, and discussion points during team meetings. Additionally, establish explicit safety habits, like making sure your agents always let someone know when their appointments are and schedule check-ins regularly. A well-structured safety plan is as critical as any business plan. NAR’s REALTOR® Magazine to build and maintain protocols that fit your practice. Resources include checklists, emergency preparedness tips, and personal safety strategies that will be a great addition to any safety plan.
2. Prioritize Situational Awareness
Apply NAR’s safety tips, including showing properties before dark, lighting up spaces, collecting client IDs, minimizing personal info in advertising, and always checking open house premises after visitors leave, and using tools like a Prospect Identification Form and insist clients stop by the office to verify identity for added protection. These tips may seem like common sense measures, but it is important to think about them every time you are conducting a showing or putting your information out for clients.
3. Guard Against Cybercrime
Cyber threats, including email hacks, pose severe risks. NAR recommends to never open suspicious attachments or links, use encrypted platforms for sensitive communications, safeguard login credentials and regularly archive emails securely, and consult a licensed attorney to tailor a cybersecurity policy. Additionally, Florida Realtors emphasizes vigilance against business-email attacks like confirming wiring instructions via phone, training staff regularly, using VPNs, back up data, and forming relationships with trusted IT professionals and the FBI for potential threats.
Implementing these tips into your career or your office can help keep you, your employees, and your clients safe in a world where you never know what threats could be around the corner. Leaning on resources that are provided to you by NEFAR, Florida Realtors, and NAR is a great way to protect yourself and others.
