Fresh from the Ray White Connect Conference, Mr Walker said the recognition was a proud milestone for the entire team.
“It was incredible. Actually, we weren’t sure whether we were going to get it; the competition within the group these days is so fierce and tough,” Mr Walker said.
“But it’s a really nice acknowledgement. Just to know that everyone’s on the right track and doing the right activities to get us to the number one group within the biggest group in Australasia.”
The accolade comes just weeks after the business celebrated its 10-year anniversary, a decade-long journey that started from “just a single office; a garage door about 10 years ago,” and has since grown into Ray White’s largest international group.
Asked about the secret to sustained success, Mr Walker was quick to credit his team.
“It probably sounds cliché, but it’s the people. We started our growth quite slowly, making sure we recruited the right people until one day we just started ticking along and found that we became an attraction business and people wanted to work for us,” he said.
“Looking back now, it’s nice to see everyone achieving what they’ve set out to achieve.”
That culture of attraction and retention has resulted in some extraordinary results, including 18 agents surpassing the $1 million mark in the last financial year.
“Everybody that really wants to achieve whatever it is they’ve set out to achieve has the opportunity to do that in our business. We build a team around those people… it’s a formula that we’ve got: putting the right structures and teams around the right people,” Mr Walker explained.
Expansion and innovation
In the past year, the group has also taken bold strides into new markets, launching across the Northern Beaches with four offices already open.
“It’s been exciting to start the Northern Beaches journey. We’ve built the business around some key people; it’s a different market, different talent, different ambitions. I’ve loved the challenge to go into a new marketplace and see what we can do there,” Mr Walker said.
Supporting growth has been a strong focus on leadership and structured career pathways for agents, associates, property managers and administrators alike.
“We’ve got the view that everyone that turns up to work every day in our business has ambition. It’s our job as the business to really try and harness whatever anyone’s ambition is,” Mr Walker said.
“The associates group, for example, are really hungry and ambitious to grow and learn. We’ve got an amazing leader in there, Ash Van Deyk, who runs that program for us… it’s been hugely successful.”
Mr Walker also acknowledged the vital role of his business partner, Charles Caravousanos.
“Charles is amazing because he allows me to do what I do really well, and I allow him to do what he does really well. He does all the stuff behind the scenes whereas I’m trying to lead the sales business. We’re very different people, but we’re very, very close as well,” Mr Walker said.
