Sometimes clients leave messages with the receptionist that may contain confidential information. If we practice “split” agency, how should these be handled to protect this information?
There are different ways a broker could address this in the company policy. Rather than leave the message in a place where other agents in the brokerage could see it, the receptionist could be required to put it in an envelope in the agent’s mailbox or on his desk. 12) Q: I require my agents to do floor time on the telephones. Should they be instructed not to take detailed messages from the clients of other licensees in the brokerage, in case those messages contain confidential information? A: This is something you need to address if you practice “split” agency in your brokerage. Some of the options you have would be to eliminate floor time; to use a voice mail system so callers could leave messages in their own agent’s confidential voice mail box; or have the agent on floor time refer the caller to a management-level licensee when the caller indicates he would like to leave a message beyond just a phone number.
