by Pat Breme, RCE, CIPS
CEO
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) created a program, the Commitment to Excellence, to raise the bar of professionalism in order for REALTORS® to serve clients better.
The end game is equipping members with tools to enrich their knowledge base, therefore holding themselves to a higher degree of accountability.
The initial activity is a series of quizzes to assess your knowledge on 10 topics. I decided to take the assessment and thought it would be fairly easy since I have spent over 25 years in the REALTOR® association world. Yes, I have working knowledge of the Code. Yes, I contribute to RPAC and understand what it does. Yes, I am not a licensee but I have working knowledge of the business of real estate. How did I do?
I finished Learning Topics, Code of Ethics, and Advocacy and fared pretty well. I am just getting into Areas of Practice which will be harder for me.
C2EX tests knowledge in 10 Areas
- Advocacy
- Areas of Practice
- Client Service
- Professional Reputation
- Real Estate Law
- Code of Ethic.
- Article 10
- Trust & Integrity
- Technology
- Safeguard Privacy
Miss a question, no problem
If you miss a question there is a follow-up Learning Plan that provides the correct information so the process is customized to your needs. The questions are not difficult but because they are multiple choice, there is always the possibility (fear) of a trick answer. You can stop and come back and the program tells you where you left off.
The process is not drudgery!
It is fun and the information is presented in a concise way. Completing all the Learning Topics and the Tasks will take some time but it is so well organized, stopping and resuming is not difficult. It is user friendly, the attitude is supportive. It is not a drudgery! It is a challenge but I found that I was motivated to see how much I knew.
NAR has been working on the Commitment to Excellence program since 2014 and I can see why. The integration is quite impressive! Companion to the Learning Topics are the Tasks which is a long list of activities that put knowledge into actions. Some of the Tasks are required to gain the endorsement, for example, responding to a call to action is required. Attending a fair housing conference is recommended but not required. The other major category is Surveys. To determine performance levels, you can provide client names, email addresses and send a selected a survey type, for example, a post-open house or post-closing survey. Under Engagements there are other activities and resources.
Attain the bragging rights, get the badge!
AT LEAST, take the assessment in each Learning Topic. You will be surprised at how much you know and at the same time, surprised at the items you misunderstand! FAAR plans to peak interest by periodically posting various questions/answers in social media posts and in weekly Updates.
You could win…
Commit to checking out the process. Go to c2ex.realtor. FAAR will do a drawing for a prize of those who achieved the badge in 2019. Brokers, issue a challenge to your agents! The effort is fun and it is an outstanding way to brush up on your knowledge whether you have been in the business one year or 20 years.
