It’s a problem that is affecting many sectors of trade and industry across the country – not enough people to fill available job vacancies.
The buoyancy in the property market means that the thirst for individual estate agency hiring has also boiled over to the extent that estate agency recruiter, Josh Rayner, of Rayner Personnel, now says the property job market is “…the busiest I’ve ever known in my 17 years in the sector”.
Job vacancies in the wider economy sit at a record 1,034,000 (ONS), some 249,000 higher than before the pandemic.
This increase in companies seeking to fill roles is reflected in Rayner’s own numbers with their own available monthly positions soaring by 82% versus 2020. A factor in that growth percentage figure will be that 2020 was a year of covid-quietness, but there is no denying that the estate agency jobs market is now extremely active.
Salaries are increasing across the board too and this is another motivation for agents looking around for jobs that are even more lucrative than their current one. Rayner says companies are paying more for the best people – because they are having to.
“Demand from estate agency companies to replace and to expand is at boiling point’ says Rayner.
“And as agents themselves catch on to the fact that there are more roles than candidates right now, they know that they have choice and power in the recruitment market.”
How convenient, there is even a link to this recruitment agents website within the story. Come on PIE you can do better than this.
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It does feel as if estate agents have become ever more reliant on recruitment consultants, certainly across my 25 years within the industry.
I cannot comment for the rest of the country, but within the area I cover, West London, gone are the days of advertising in the Evening Standard.
I have tried advertising on Indeed but was simply overwhelmed by people who were just looking for a job and had paid no attention to the skills needed which had been made clear in the advert.
Surely given there are 3 daily emails from PIE, Estate Agent Today and The Negotiator which I would imagine have a pretty broad reach across the industry, that one of them could step up to the mark and provide a jobs board where vacancies could be advertised.
I for one would rather pay my staff more, but currently have to factor in the cost of the recruitment.
of course the recruiters will no doubt say they provide a vital service and some of the people who have come via recruiters have been exceptional, but an awful lot are just trying to throw anyone at you, irrespective of who you are looking for.
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Exactly my experience
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“Problem” = Opportunity.
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Come on then, where do we all think this will end up early next year? Vacancies and recruitment needs are through the roof (according to this chap of course), but clearly the market is contracting rapidly and the sensible agents can spot the competitors around them who already won’t have the listings or pipeline to trade out in Q1/Q2 of next year – what happens to their new starters in that scenario?? It’s great to tout earning potential and shiny new job roles, but how many of these thousands of vacancies will still be a genuine recruitment need in 2022?
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100% agree – I was working with a local agent in the South West up until a few months ago on a self-employed model. With dwindling instruction numbers the SE agents saw none of the incoming enquiries and lo and behold both have left. They haven’t been replaced because the numbers aren’t there here
Sure agent pipelines look great right now and I’m sure more people are needed for sales progression etc but when these pipelines shrink by 25, 30% – as it’s difficult to see instructions jumping drastically – overheads will be looked at
As the saying goes, last one in, first one out..
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I think we are going to see a massive lay off of staff this side of Xmas. The change in activity Stock levels mean there are lots of people that will be surplus to business’s needs and with normal seasonal slow down about to pinch watch agents pull in their belts.
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As it is an employee market with roles being offered with increased salaries and remuneration packages it is essential that agencies retain their existing staff. This can be done by ensuring that your HR process are robust and are up to date. This may mean increasing salaries or commissions, which may sound expensive but not as expensive as recruiting a new person who will command a higher salary anyway plus the loss in revenue whilst they establish themselves. Employees also like to feel that they belong and have an employment contract and that they are well managed which includes up to date policies. I also urge agencies to invest in training for their staff as this has many advantages and employees feel that the agency cares enough about them to invest time and money to increase their knowledge and skill set.
These are just a few points as to why it is vital to invest in staff retention and regularly review what needs to be done to maintain a happy and motivated work force.
Iain Lock
Q&A HR
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