Every high-level brokerage owner carries a quiet tension about team dynamics—the pressure to perform, the challenge of culture, and the delicate matter of succession. Knowing when to part ways with a high-producing team is never easy but essential for sustainable growth and legacy preservation.

Moving a team involves tangible costs—time, money, and momentum. But when the hidden costs begin to outweigh the benefits, decisive action becomes imperative. Below are the five nuanced signs that indicate it’s time to let a team go to another brokerage.

These insights draw from the Inman News article by Chris Pollinger, framed here with the measured perspective of RE Luxe Leaders™.

Sign 1: Your Brokerage is Anti-Teams

There is an important distinction between a brokerage that is simply not optimized to support teams and one that actively adopts an anti-team posture. The majority of brokerages are not structured to serve growing teams—that alone is not a red flag.

However, when a team leader with significant ambitions becomes notably more profitable than the brokerage owner, tensions often arise. Teams naturally evolve into “offices within an office,” and three danger signs warrant urgent attention:

• An undercurrent of adversity toward the team from other individual agents.
• Hostility between the team and the brokerage’s support staff.
• Open animosity or undermining behavior toward you as the broker.

Should these patterns manifest persistently, the pragmatic course is to prepare for the team to transition externally.

Sign 2: Culture Conflicts Between Team and Brokerage

As teams mature, they develop their own internal culture and brand identity rooted in shared core values. This culture acts as the internal glue and is outwardly represented by the team’s market reputation.

When the foundational principles of the team diverge significantly from those upheld by the brokerage, a misalignment emerges that is often irreconcilable. Such cultural discord undermines cohesion and eventually market performance.

In these cases, transitioning the team to a brokerage that shares better cultural fit is the strategic choice to preserve both entities’ integrity.

Sign 3: The Brokerage Limits Team Growth

Many brokerages lack the infrastructure or policies to foster team-scale expansion effectively. Limitations can arise from geography constraints, insufficient office space, or restrictive internal regulations.

If a high-performing team encounters a “glass ceiling” within your brokerage—unable to grow or scale meaningfully—it impacts their trajectory and your overall office ecosystem.

Smart leaders recognize when their brokerage no longer aligns with a team’s expansion needs and proactively advise a transition for the benefit of all parties.

Sign 4: The Team Costs More Than 10% of Their Gross Commission Income (GCI)

Profitability is non-negotiable for brokerage sustainability. While fee structures and profit models vary widely, a reliable benchmark for high-producing teams is that the brokerage retains approximately 10% of their GCI after expenses.

Consider all ancillary costs absorbed by the brokerage on behalf of the team—advertising, tools, office space—and evaluate whether the net margin aligns with your overhead requirements.

Traditional brokerages often charge fees then issue credits, while 100% commission brokerages may apply monthly and transaction fees ostensibly keeping GCI “whole.” Regardless, if the team’s financial contribution is persistently under this threshold without compensating recruiting or strategic value, it’s a clear sign to let the team go.

Sign 5: The Team is Poaching Your Talent

The broker-team relationship must be mutually beneficial. A healthy dynamic sees the broker supporting the team’s growth and celebrating new agent recruitment that organically bolsters the brokerage.

Natural attrition among seasoned agents is approximately 7-10% annually due to life events. Turnover is higher (~30%) among newer agents under two years in the business.

However, losing high-quality agents to a team within your brokerage signals either a lapse in hiring standards or active poaching. Both issues must be addressed swiftly.

Occasional voluntary movements—agents joining or leaving a team—are expected if mutually agreed. But if a team undermines the brokerage or actively recruits from other office members against your interests, prompt decisiveness is necessary.

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