What high-performing agents actually want from an agency in 2026

I spend a lot of time talking to agents, and I've noticed something. The best conversations rarely begin with someone telling me they need another lead or a shinier office. They begin when I ask what is frustrating them and they realise I actually want to hear the answer.

Yes, we talk about money. We should. A high-performing agent has worked hard to build their business, and the commercial arrangement needs to make sense. But I've never believed you can understand what someone wants from a conversation about their split alone. You have to understand what they are trying to build, what they are proud of, and which parts of their day make them think, "Surely there is a better way to do this."

Sometimes the answer is surprisingly ordinary. They want the campaign ready when they were told it would be. They want to know a buyer enquiry has been followed up. They want information in one place so they can have a better conversation with a client, instead of spending their evening pulling numbers from three different systems. It may not sound exciting in a recruitment pitch, but making those things work is a meaningful way to back an agent.

There is always another person to call, another relationship to nurture and another opportunity sitting in a database somewhere. When I think about technology and AI, this is where my mind goes. Could we take some of the manual work off an agent's plate so they have more time to make the call that matters? Could we give them a clearer picture of what is happening in their business before they have to ask for it? I want us to be more efficient because it gives our people more time to be human with their clients.

I also think great agents want room to be themselves. We say "personal brand" so often in real estate that it has almost lost its meaning, but the best agents really are different from one another. Some are brilliant storytellers. Some know their area so well they can tell you who built the house you are standing in. Some have a calmness about them that makes a nervous client feel immediately better. Those are strengths worth developing, and I do not see the value in sanding them down to make everybody sound the same.

Plenty of capable agents are known and trusted by the people they have worked with, yet almost invisible to the people they could help next. An agency can play a real part in changing that.

Then there is support, a word that gets used in almost every recruitment conversation. I think agents know the difference between being promised support and feeling it on a Wednesday afternoon when a campaign has hit a snag. Good support is someone taking ownership, giving a straight answer and helping the agent deliver what they said they would deliver to their client. It is rarely glamorous. It matters enormously.

Perhaps the part we talk about least is that high performers still want to grow. They might be producing incredible results, but that does not mean they have worked out exactly what the next five years should look like. I think a good leader should be curious about that. Do they want to build a team? Lift their fee? Work in a different way? Have more of a life alongside the business they have built? Sometimes our job is to challenge them, not just congratulate them.

I do not think there is one answer to what high-performing agents want from an agency in 2026. That is the point. If we are serious about attracting and keeping exceptional people, we need to spend less time reciting what we offer and more time finding out what would make a real difference to them.

That is usually when the interesting conversation starts.

Katrina Tarrant is chief executive officer of Urban Real Estate. The opinions expressed are her own.