Former office manager, Harneet Johal has been promoted to head of performance and growth at McGrath Werribee under principal Taney Jain.
With more than 10 years in the business, after starting as a receptionist, Ms Johal has become an integral member of the high-performing team.
The new role will see her working one-on-one with the entire team and ensuring they have all the resources they need to hit their personal and business goals.
She will also be in charge of recruiting and bringing in upcoming and top talent to the business.
Ms Johal said she knows what it takes to run a high-performing office after working as office manager in the business for a number of years.
“I’m excited to finally step into this new role,” Ms Johal said.
“I’ve learned all the systems inside out, and I just felt now is the time.”
Ms Johal didn’t pursue a career in real estate initially, but has found her passion working under one of the country’s top agents.
“It was sort of like a luck-of-the-draw opportunity that came up,” she said.
“I never really thought that I was going to be in real estate, at least not for as long as I’ve been now.
“It just sort of was an opportunity that came up, and I said, ‘You know what, it’s a great way to start’.”
Like many others in the industry, she found that starting in reception was the perfect way to learn the industry from the inside out.
“I got to dabble a little bit in property management and started attending sales as well,” she said.
“I never thought I’d get to where I am now.
“But I got to experience everything including attending appraisals and learning all the systems inside out.”
As she steps into her new role, Ms Johal is focused on individualised support for her team members and getting the best out of them and the business.
“I’ll be working more closely with each of my team members, helping them with goal setting and training, and creating strategic plans tailored to them,” she said.
“My aim is to help them reach their full potential by monitoring KPIs, making personalised plans, and supporting them to achieve their goals.”
Ms Johal’s main aim is to see her team do well.
“Just to see my team flourish is my definition of success,” she said.
She said her goal was to be the pillar of the team, supporting them from behind the scenes.
“I told Taney, ‘I want you guys to be the stars,’ and he said, ‘Well, the stars need the sun, and you are the sun,’ she said.
“I was taken aback, but it made me realise the importance of my role.
“So, while I prefer to be the pillar in the back, I’ll continue to push my team to shine.”
McGrath Werribee Principal, Taney Jain, said he was incredibly proud and excited for Ms Johal to step into the new role.
“She’s one of those people who are the backbone of the business, in both the worst times and good times,” Mr Jain said.
“Even when the brand was new, she made sure that the backend was taken care of so we could handle the front end.”