MR PATRICK Liew, the chief executive officer of HSR International Realtors, gets his 8,500 employees to be involved in rituals, battle cries and singing songs like 'We Live Our Dream'.
He is not dabbling in religion, but these are his methods to keep his employees motivated in the property business.
'My people don't just do a job. They are there for a higher purpose, to transform the industry,' says Mr Liew, 51, who started his career in sales and marketing.
HSR International Realtors had its beginnings in 1980, but it was when Mr Liew took over as CEO in 2003 - when HSR split from an alliance of real estate companies - that things were transformed for the better.
HSR International Realtors had gone on to become, by virtue of the number of its agents, one of Singapore's largest real estate companies.
The company's revenue has risen steadily over the last five years and hit a high of $80 million last year.
Mr Liew says: 'HSR's philosophy, business model, plan, strategies and execution have helped us attract many performers from within and outside the industry. From November 2007 until now, more than 3,000 agents have joined us.
'We will do everything we can to help our advisers lead the field, earn a top income and live a great life.'
The company provides comprehensive training courses, and the agents have access to a resource centre.
They observe a code of honour that covers areas such as discipline, work-life balance and professionalism.
This makes a difference to their clients. For instance, HSR clients are given a 20- page full-colour document outlining the services that the agent can provide them.
But Mr Liew looks beyond just making money. In fact, he calls HSR International Realtors a social enterprise. To this end, he gets his staff to do good outside of work.
They were involved in raising funds for the Myanmar and China Red Cross relief projects via the HSR family day and in starting the HSR Charity Challenge, where the company supports three charities.
This is not surprising because Mr Liew's ambition in the past was to become a social worker.
Now he does good via HSR.
He says: 'We want to help make our world a better home.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on October 22, 2008.
