AIDA National Franchises has reached another milestone in South African real estate history – the leading franchising group has become the first in the country to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

It follows a long and impressive list of firsts, the group’s CEO, Young Carr, said at AIDA’s annual national convention, held at Champagne Sports Resort in May.

AIDA, named after its founder Aida Geffen, pioneered franchising in the industry in 1979, a trend that was taken up by other groups and which has led to a more streamlined and professional local industry.

By the mid-eighties AIDA was the only company with a national network and by the end of the decade its 60 offices in all major cities firmly placed it in a leading position. In the same decade it became the first real estate agency to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Its won acclaim in 2000 and 2001 when its franchise system was placed in the top 10 in the country by an independent survey conducted by Financial Mail.

Another first followed in 2006 when Aida became the first real estate franchise to be listed for two consecutive years in the Corporate Research Foundation’s (CFR) publication, Best Companies to work for in SA.

The company has grown phenomenally over the last five decades and today it is a household name among real estate consumers. In 1999 AIDA Holdings changed its name to Jigsaw Holdings, which acquired the holding company ERA as well as MacHaus. In the same year its annual convention was re-launched to strengthen ties among members and to honour the group’s high achievers.

As AIDA grew, it refined its management and administrative functions and further expanded its comprehensive training at its academy - established way back in 1966 - to equip franchisees and agents to cope with the increasingly sophisticated demands from their clients.

Having pioneered the seller and buyer marketing solutions of sole mandates, show houses and parameter pricing, the company also ensures that agents are trained in these proprietary systems.

AIDA also pioneered the concept of a ‘one-stop shop’ to offer consumers a continuous service through its home loan facilitator and Bond Originators.

AIDA was quick to adapt to technological advances and implemented a network that is supported by a seamless end-to-end office management system. The system enables the group to monitor marketing solutions of all mandates and to automatically populate the AIDA website. Its website, www.aida.co.za, is linked to international and local portholes and provides buyers and sellers with a valuable tool.

1. Every estate agent is required to keep a trust account, which shall contain a reference to Section 32 of the Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), wherein all trust monies held or received by such estate agent, shall be deposited.
   
   
2. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, any estate agent may invest in a separate savings or other interest bearing account, any monies deposited in its trust account, which are not immediately required for any particular reason. Any such savings or other interest bearing account, shall contain a reference to Section 32(2)(a) of the Act.
   
   
3. Interest on monies deposited into a trust account and on monies invested, shall, subject to the express terms of the mandate, which shall be in writing, be paid to the fund, by the estate agent concerned. The board may in such circumstances refund to an estate agent a prescribed portion of the interest paid by such estate agent. Trust money in an account invested or deposited shall be retained by the estate agent in such account, until the estate agent is
   lawfully entitled to it or instructed to make payment therefrom to any person.
   
   
4. Should an estate agent not have a trust account and/or not comply with Sec tion 32 of the Act, such agent shall be guilty of conduct deserving of sanction, and the Board or the committee of inquiry may:
   
   a) withdraw the fidelity fund certificate of such agent;
   b) impose a fine;
   c) reprimand such estate agent.

The employee does not have a responsibility to manage change- the employee’s responsibility is no other than to do their best, which is different for every person and depends on as wide variety of factors(health, maturity, stability, experience, personality, motivation, etc). Responsibility for managing change is with management and executives of the organisation- they must manage the change in a way that employees can cope with it. The manager has a responsibility to facilitate and enable change, and all that is implied within that statement, especially to understand the situation from an objective standpoint (to “step back”, and be non-judgemental), and then to help people understand reasons, aims, and ways of responding positively according to employees’ own situations and capabilities. Increasingly, the manager’s role is to interpret, communicate and enable – not to instruct and impose, which nobody really responds to well.

Thus, change must involve the people – change must not be imposed upon the people. If people are not approaching their tasks or the organization effectively, then the organization has the wrong mindset, not the people.

Change such as new structures, policies, targets, acquisitions, disposals, re-locations, etc., all create new systems and environments, which need to be explained to people as early as possible, so that people’s involvement in validating and refining the changes themselves can be obtained.

Management training , empathy and facilitative capability are priority areas- managers are crucial to the change process – they must enable and facilitate, not merely convey and implement policy from above, which does not work.

You cannot impose change- people and teams need to be empowered to find their own solutions and responses, with facilitation and support from managers, and tolerance and compassion from the leaders and executives. Management and leadership style and behaviour is more important than clever process and policy. Employees need to be able to trust the organization.

The leader must agree and work with these ideas, or change is likely to be very painful, and the best people will be lost in the process.

Change Management Principles:

At all times involve and agree support from people within system (system = environment, processes, culture, relationships, behaviours, etc., whether personal or organisational). Understand where you / the organisation is at the moment. Understand where you want to be, when, why, and and what the measures will be for having got there.

Plan development towards above no.3 in appropriate achievable measurable stages. Communicate, involve, enable and facilitate involvement from people, as early and openly and as fully as is possible