As brokerages look toward 2026, they’re facing a wall of commercial real estate loan maturities, rapid adoption of AI, and agents switching firms at elevated levels. A recent Deloitte commercial real estate outlook notes that there is more than $1.7 trillion in US commercial mortgages, many of which are already delayed through “extend-and-pretend” deals that push out due dates. 

An agent migration report from Recruiting Insight found that 13% of active agents changed brokerages in 2024, while Gartner’s 2026 CHRO research shows AI, culture, and change leadership moving to the center of the HR agenda.

For brokerages, that translates into a set of roles built to manage technology, talent, and risk more deliberately. Here are six functions many firms will want in place ahead of 2026, and what they mean for agents on the ground.

1. AI strategy lead

An AI strategy lead turns broad AI ambitions into brokerage-specific workflows, evaluating where tools like predictive lead scoring, automated marketing, and document review can support — not replace — human judgment and ensuring use complies with advertising, privacy, and fair housing rules.

Done well, the role sharpens pricing guidance, prospecting, and recruiting; poorly executed, it can introduce bias or erode trust. Agents will see more AI-assisted listing copy, marketing campaigns, and pipeline insights, with final recommendations still made by humans.

2. Skills-based talent acquisition manager

A skills-based talent acquisition manager focuses on what candidates can do, not just the degrees they hold. Research from the Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School examines employers’ move toward skills-based hiring and finds that sustained practice often lags public commitments.

In a brokerage, this role defines the skills that matter most (production, local market knowledge, digital marketing, negotiation, and leadership) and uses assessments and data from customer relationship management (CRM) systems and MLS records to evaluate fit.

The upside is a broader talent pool aligned with the firm’s strategy; the trade-off is investing in assessment tools and retraining managers. Agents can expect interviews that probe specific skills and clearer messaging about which capabilities the brokerage will support and reward.

3. Employee experience & culture manager

Brokerages are discovering that culture and experience have a measurable impact. Gartner research on embedding culture into daily work links strong cultural alignment with up to a 34% boost in performance and a 63% increase in engagement. An employee experience and culture manager designs onboarding, coaching, recognition, and communication programs that match the firm’s values and business model.

This can raise retention and create a more consistent client experience. Agents are likely to see more structured onboarding, regular feedback opportunities, and more transparency around compensation, tools, and policy changes.

4. Director of data analytics & risk

With large volumes of commercial and multifamily debt maturing over the next few years, firms need sharper visibility into both opportunities and downside risks. The Deloitte outlook highlights more than $1.7 trillion of US commercial mortgages under maturity pressure, while analysis from Trepp points to $2.81 trillion in commercial loans coming due between 2024 and 2028.

A director of data analytics and risk builds dashboards that track inventory, pricing, absorption, lender behavior, and distress signals, and partners with leadership on where to grow, consolidate, or pause. The benefit is more rigorous office and market decisions and earlier detection of regulatory or credit risk; the cost is investing in data infrastructure and specialist talent. Agents can expect more frequent market briefings, more precise production metrics, and data-informed decisions about which segments and geographies the brokerage is prioritizing.

5. Change management lead

Technology rollouts, compensation redesigns, and structural shifts are now constant. Gartner’s work on change adoption indicates that organizations do better when leaders routinize change so it becomes an “instinctive” part of day-to-day work rather than a rare event.

A change management lead coordinates communications, training, and sequencing whenever the brokerage introduces significant changes, then gathers feedback to adjust plans. This can make implementations faster and less disruptive, but only if the role has a voice early in decision-making. For agents, the goal is earlier notice, clearer explanations, and more hands-on support when new tools or structures arrive.

6. Internal mobility & career pathways manager

Retention is becoming as important as recruitment. The Recruiting Insight agent migration report and coverage in HousingWire show that leadership, support, and perceived growth paths are key factors in agents’ decisions to move. An internal mobility and career pathways manager maps opportunities within the firm — from solo producer to team leader, managing broker, and training or operations roles — and makes those paths visible and attainable.

The upside is reduced churn among productive agents and a stronger bench for leadership and specialist roles; the challenge is coordinating across HR, finance, and legal and maintaining transparent criteria. Agents are likely to see more structured conversations about long-term goals and programs tied to specific future positions.

Taken together, these six roles reflect a shift from ad hoc responses to a more deliberate operating model. The underlying drivers — AI adoption, refinancing risk, and heightened agent mobility — are already visible in the data.

Brokerages that add capacity in AI strategy, skills-based hiring, employee experience, analytics, change management, and internal mobility are positioning themselves to respond more quickly as conditions change. For real estate professionals, the impact will be felt in day-to-day support: more data, clearer expectations, and better communication around change.