Property ManagementPrudential"s eCert Educational Program Goes Online
Sometimes the cart has to go before the horse.
The early success of Prudential"s Real Estate Affiliates, Inc."s eCertified program has enabled it to go online and out of the classroom. Over 9,000 Prudential agents out of 42,000 system-wide have completed the course in classroom settings, but thanks to a new alliance with EXAMWeb, future graduates will complete their course work on their own computers. Examweb will provide an online evaluation engine to help assess the existing skills of agents and identify their weaknesses so that they can take the appropriate course work to improve their skills.
The "eCerts," as the franchise calls the graduates, are being trained to use the Internet and its communication and information delivery tools to work more effectively with Internet-educated consumers. Entering into its third year, the eCertified designation program was an industry original, preceding the e-PRO certification program by the National Association of REALTORS by two years. As part of the training, eCertified sales associates are required to have knowledge of leading Internet marketing solutions, office automation, digital imaging and electronic communication.
"We are in a transition period from the original training program to an online tutorial program," explains Bob Watson, vice president of Thought Leadership, The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. "Examweb is a test prep company. What you do is register as a user and take a tutorial or a sample test to see your skill level. If you do take a test, it will tell you which sections you need the most help. The purpose of joining Examweb is to give the agents a place to go so they can take a sample test and see where they need skills."
A typical question on the system might be "Which is a faster than DSL - dial up, T1, satellite, or none of the above?" If the agent answers incorrectly, the system stores the incorrect answer and directs the agent to where the curriculum discusses that topic online. Once the agent completes the formal test, it will give them 35 questions which they have to get 70 percent correct or better. To graduate, they have to send an e-mail to the system with an attachment. Once the e-mail has been received and passes muster, the agent is eCertified.
A typical class might be a half-day and sometimes a full-day, depending on the skills assessment. Watson runs through the curriculum. "Basically what we go over is the workings of the Internet, dial up connections, office automations, Microsoft Word and Excel and how to use them in real estate. Then we include productivity software like Top Producer, virtual tours, e-mail and the need for expediency in replying to e-mail. Then we go into a document and attaching a photo and sending it to a customer. We verify it so that we know the agent can create a document and email it.
"We explain what Adobe and a PDF file is," continues Watson. "Part two is to do an email to send an attachment in Microsoft Publisher. Most people don"t have Publisher and therein lies the frustration of the consumer with the agent. We have to verify that the attachment can be opened by a consumer."
Will there be an advanced eCert in the future? "We are hoping to have an eCert Pro but we want to get more agents certified before we create a higher level designation," says Watson.
The system is being tested now and over 45 agents have taken the online test to date. "Our beefed-up version will be ready about two weeks from now," says Watson. "What I want to have is the right tools to help create a totally virtual agent. Right now even the best eCertified agent still does a paper listing presentation."