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Market Update - June 2010
Fri 4 Jun 2010
Recruiting the right staff is crucial
to the success of any organisation and especially true of estate agency.
In an industry where employers are fully aware that negotiators and
branch managers can have a dramatic impact (positive or negative) on
their bottom line, the majority would list recruitment as a leading
priority in the running of their business.
Anyone
responsible for recruiting staff in their organisation will undoubtedly
confirm that quality people have suddenly become hard to find. With
many companies shedding staff less than 12 months ago, this turnaround
has been quite staggering. The current shortage of good placable
candidates is as bad as we have seen it in our 22 years of trading. With
a record number of vacacies registered in the last three months, it is
extremely frustrating for us and our clients that there is quite
literally no one out there.
Why is
there such a shortage? Well, we believe there are a number of factors.
Firstly, while there are no official figures, it is estimated (by the Daily Telegraph) that over
30,000 people working in agency lost their jobs between 2007 and 2009,
and our experiences would lead us to believe that as many as 75% of
these people are no longer estate agents. This alone will have led to a
huge reduction in the availability of experienced agents in the labour
market, with the number being reduced further by others leaving the
industry of their own accord, as they simply were not earning enough
money.
With the market continuing to
expand quite rapidly, the demand for estate agents is rising. However,
with sales on the up, especially in London and the Home Counties, estate
agents are busy, motivated and earning good money again. Consequently
most are not looking to move. Added to this, many people in work are
scared to jeopardise what they have so are staying put.
So is there a solution to filling the
growing number of vacancies? In our opinion, we are unlikely to find
them by knocking on the doors of former estate agents who left in the
downturn. We believe that companies need to 'grow their own'. However, it
is jsut as difficult to recruit trainees as the industry is just not so
attractive. Our clients are quite simply not investing enough of their
time recruiting the best candidates at grass roots level.
Anthony Hesse is interviewed by Sheila Manchester, editor of Property Drum, June 2010
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