A roundtable hosted by iamproperty has brought together experts from across the sector to discuss the opportunities and challenges state agents are facing, as they navigate an increasingly digitalised industry.

The roundtable featured Michele Gettins of iamproperty, Charlotte Jeffrey-Campbell of The Able Agent, Tim Barnett of Credas, Gary Barker of nurtur.group, Katy Billany of TwentyEA, and Ian McKenzie of The Guild. Together, they discussed how increased digitalisation and adoption of technology can free up agents to focus on customer service.

The panel discussed that innovation is often a differentiator for estate agents in a highly competitive market, where customers’ expectations of an efficient digital experience, like that of their other transactions, are high.

Barnett stated: “Most agents are investing in tech for their business to make operational efficiencies, but it’s tech’s ability to give agents a competitive edge that branches should be getting most excited about. They should use it to play into the experience consumers are looking for and use digitalised processes and a better service offering to stand out, especially in an industry like ours.”

However, whilst the panel agreed technology was the way forward, there are still existing barriers stopping the property sector from taking the leap.

One of the primary barriers identified was cash flow, with agents struggling with lengthy transaction timelines and low fee margins.

McKenzie noted: “Cash flow is the biggest barrier to innovation; agents aren’t able to turn their pipeline around fast enough. Agents don’t have time to review every solution, we need to make the proposition more joined up and simple and help them to make a clear link between innovation and competitive advantage.”

The panel agreed that retention of the customer-centric approach that is synonymous with Estate Agents is essential, and that innovative technology and great customer service can co-exist successfully. Gary Barker stated: “For us to overcome some of the challenges, we need to look at solving problems in new ways and encouraging everyone in the industry and in our business to become problem solvers.”

Jeffrey-Campbell highlighted the importance of collaboration: “Real people-powered innovation comes from collaborating with our customers to get to the solution quicker.”

When it comes to investing in technology, a central theme from the discussion was the importance of harnessing diverse viewpoints from both internal staff and external customers.

Billany added: “Everyone in the team, from the most junior to the most senior, needs to feel comfortable to take their ideas forward, not just the loudest in the room.”

The discussion also explored whether change should be driven internally through tech-enabled customer relationship management (CRM) systems or legislated by the Government.

Gettins suggested: “The driving force to category-led change needs to come from government, to enable faster adoption of innovations and break down barriers for people-powered change.”