Most retention problems start as selection problems.
Charisma wins interviews. Capacity wins careers. The Core Capacities Index (CCI) is Recruiting Insight’s proprietary assessment that helps real estate sponsoring brokers understand how a candidate is wired before they sponsor them. It works for new, newer and experienced real estate agents.
This page explains what the CCI measures and how to use it in your selection process.
The four capacities
| Capacity | Core strength |
|---|---|
| Builder | Power and action |
| Merchant | Vision and connection |
| Innovator | Wisdom and strategy |
| Banker | Knowledge and order |
No profile is “best.” The question is fit: fit with the role, fit with the leader, and fit with how your brokerage actually supports agents. See the full descriptions at corecapacitiesindex.com.
Why selection matters
Recruiting Insight’s 2026 data puts annual turnover across the productive agent base at 6.8%, and 12-month retention for externally recruited agents at 76%. About one in four agents you recruit from another brokerage leaves within a year. Signing agents and keeping agents are two different skills. Source: Recruiting Insight’s Agent Migration and Brokerage Model Performance Report.
How sponsoring brokers use the CCI
- Define your ideal agent first. Look at your top 20 agents and write down who thrives in your company.
- Assess every serious candidate. The candidate sees their own feedback. The sponsoring broker’s report adds interview questions built from the results.
- Run the same interview every time. Use the CCI questions alongside your standard interview so candidates can be compared fairly.
- Use it as one input, not the only one. An assessment adds structure to a decision that is otherwise driven by first impressions.
- Measure what happens after the signature. Track 12-month retention, time to first closing and time to steady-state production for every agent you sponsor.
How it connects to the other frameworks
- In Create Your TRIBE, it supports Research: know who you are, who to call and who you could lose.
- In The 8 D’s of Agent Movement, it helps you match the candidate to the right D. Someone moving for Dollars alone will move again.
- In 90 Days to Recruiting Success, it sharpens stage 3, Convert recruiting leads.
See the CCI in action
Learn about the CCI or see a Recruiting Insight demo.
Posts that put this to work
- How to Select the Right Real Estate Agents Before You Sponsor Them
- Did You Know? The Hidden Costs of Hiring in the Mortgage (and Real Estate!) Industry
Win the day.
Want help applying this in your brokerage? Book a 30-minute conversation with Mark at calendly.com/mjsession.
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