Estate agency continues to endure a rather strange period, with many agencies struggling to attract decent candidates for vacant roles, while research shows that many existing employees are on the lookout for a new job.

Vacancies in the sector are increasing as many companies struggle to hold on to staff, with Rayner Personnel, an estate agency recruitment firm, recently reporting that almost half – 47% – of employees are considering changing their job in 2023. Moreover 50% say they ‘hate their boss’.

Meanwhile, the average annual gross pay of an estate agent climbed by just 3.2% in 2022, separate research carried out by Nested reveals this week.

The estate agency analysed data from the Office for National Statistics on the average gross salary of estate agencies and how this level of pay has changed over the last 10 years.

The study shows that the average gross salary across the sector climbed to £38,898 in 2022, up 3.2%, which is significantly below the rate of inflation – currently 10.1%.

Given the current state of the market, long-standing estate agency trainer and founder of the Property Academy, Peter Knight, is urging estate agents to do more to attract younger generations by embracing “the opportunity that flexible working creates as work-life balance is a core characteristic to Gen Z employees and beyond”.

Knight commented: “Gen Z employees have different demands and expectations from their employers and the industry must recognize this and adapt to the changing landscape. This includes offering flexibility, professional development and transparency. They want to work for businesses that value employees and offer a true work-life balance.

“Indeed, Gen Z will soon make up 30% of the worldwide workforce, so it’s vital that businesses adapt their recruitment processes to appeal to this emerging new talent.

“Many agents still have a traditional working environment, which includes long, office-based working hours.

“More and more people want their work to fit around their life and for the balance to work for them. Recent business research supports this and suggests recruitment success could be linked to an employer’s ability to offer hybrid working patterns.”

A recent study by flexible workspace operator IWG revealed four in five – 83% – HR professionals in the UK believe hybrid working is essential in attracting the best talent.

To add, almost half – 49% – of the 500 HR professionals surveyed said hybrid working was an extremely effective tool to recruit and retain workers.

Knight Continued: “Hybrid working can be win-win for both employees and employers. As well as offering a better work-life balance for the employee, hybrid working expands the talent pool as people as will take on a longer commute if they are doing it on a less frequent basis, so it widens the net for new talent search.”

“In addition, continual training and career development need to become less of a buzzword and more of a strategic company policy to take attract individuals to careers in the industry and on a pathway leading to promotion and opportunities.

“In a study conducted by LinkedIn, 40% of Gen Zers said they would be willing to accept a pay cut of up to 5% of their salary for a role that offers better career growth — compared with 26% of overall workers.

“Unlike many professions, there is not a global standardisation for training in property, but that does not diminish the value of pursuing learning opportunities. Making time to focus on professional development can have a vast difference in terms of productivity and professional satisfaction. We really must prioritise it and clearly showcase clear development plans in the recruitment process.”

Estate agent earnings increase to their second highest in the last decade