Scaling Connection: An HR Field Guide from Anywhere Real Estate

What can HR learn from a company with 350,000 independent agents and 8,000 employees spread across 100+ countries? In this episode of Nine to Thrive HR, host Cindi Koetzle sits down with Tanya Reu-Narvaez, Chief People Officer at Anywhere Real Estate—the umbrella behind brands including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Sotheby’s International Realty. Tanya shares how the organization moved from 92% in-office to a remote-first model and, counterintuitively, became more connected. She unpacks the practices that broke down brand silos—enterprise learning, cross-company teaming, ERGs with 20% active participation, “Focus Fridays,” and a common culture codified as The Anywhere Way—and how those choices drove retention to a five-year high. The conversation also explores reimagined onboarding via the new People Hub and practical wins with GenAI (think job descriptions in minutes), plus what’s next: “Next-Level HR,” a shift to People Enablement, human-centric leadership, and skills-based talent strategies. It’s a field guide to building connection at scale—remote, hybrid, or otherwise.