Aimed at enhancing the professionalism of Alberta REALTORS®, the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA)’s Service Excellence Program is a comprehensive professional development opportunity helping to align the services Alberta REALTORS® provide with what today’s consumers expect. Using extensive consumer research, the program provides REALTORS® the knowledge of how those expectations have changed, and then provides the tools to help ensure the REALTOR®’s service meets or exceeds clients’ expectations.

The advent of the Internet has resulted in more online resources becoming available to consumers. This, in turn, has lessened the REALTOR®’s role in finding neighbourhoods and properties that pique a client’s interest. However, the relatively high cost of property and a more complex and litigious contract environment are two reasons why clients value the REALTOR® as guide and advisor more than ever before. The Service Excellence Program is all about this reality and how REALTORS® can effectively adapt their services in order to better serve today’s consumers.

The program comprises three parts: first is The Art of Service Excellence, a high-quality, interactive online course packed with tips, tools, downloadable resources and customizable templates. Following completion of the course, REALTOR® can gain access to the second part of the program: The Measure of Service Excellence, an independent third-party client satisfaction survey that correlates with the course material and that REALTORS® can use with their clients. The third part of the program: The Proof of Service Excellence, still under development, is a provincial certification process that will allow Alberta REALTORS® to become Service Excellence certified.

Click here to watch a video about the program and read testimonials from REALTORS® who’ve completed the online Service Excellence course. Contact AREA with any questions at pd@areahub.ca or by phone at 1.800.661.0231. AREA wishes to thank the Alberta Real Estate Foundation for their generous sponsorship of this initiative.