The Safety Series: Advocate for Safe Work Practices at Your Real Estate Brokerage

Half of real estate brokerages have no safety policies, according to NAR data. So, who's reminding you and your colleagues what to do to make sure you're working safely with clients? Every office could use a safety advocate who encourages agents every day to think about their well-being while on the job. And maybe that person should be you. Host Tracey Hawkins talks with two real estate pros about what it looks like to advocate for safe practices in real estate.

Get more safety resources at nar.realtor/safety.

Meet the Guests

Dean deTonnancourt is the broker-owner of HomeSmart Professionals Real Estate, a nationally recognized organization of over 300 associates with six locations serving Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. He served as the 2008 president of the Kent Washington Association of REALTORS® in East Greenwich, R.I., as well as the 2019 president of the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS®. In 2015, deTonnancourt was awarded the Omega Tau Rho Award from NAR for his industry contributions.

Chris Garrett, CRS, SRS, is the co-owner of Weichert, REALTORS® - The Andrews Group in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He is the 2024 first vice president of Tennessee REALTORS® and is a past president of the Middle Tennessee Association of REALTORS®. Prior to real estate, Garrett was a reserve deputy with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office for four years. Because of his expertise in law enforcement, Garrett was deemed a subject matter expert for NAR’s original “Safety Matters” course.

This episode is sponsored by:

Podcast transcript:

About the Host

Tracey Hawkins, also known as “Tracey, the Safety Lady,” is a former real estate agent who founded her own safety education program, Safety and Security Source, in 1995. Hawkins is a content creator who teaches 12 interactive safety classes that she wrote herself. She teaches agents to stay safe and build their businesses by protecting the consumer. She teaches brokerages how to reduce liability. Hawkins has written expert safety content for REALTOR® Magazine and other national real estate publications, including RISMedia, Inman and The Close.