I’ve always believed in listening to feedback and acting upon it where appropriate. My recent contribution to this esteemed publication was variously described by fellow PIE readers as “boring” and “utter gibberish”. That may well be the case with this contribution but hey ho here goes…
This month I’ve decided to share a concern that I have had for some time which may be controversial but is certainly based my own experience. You may or may not agree with my conclusions and as usual, please feel free to disagree and leave your comments..
I’m sure you have heard the much repeated mantra – Work Smarter Not Harder. It is a phrase often used by estate agent coaches, trainers and prospective suppliers who are often keen to sell the latest A.I gizmo.
My concern is simply that, in my experience, some estate agents are simply not working hard enough and are using the “work smarter” concept as an excuse to not put in the hours and the so called hard miles. I am aware that nowadays there are plenty of restrictions on the number of hours that an employee can work but it still concerns me that so many estate agent colleagues seem to misinterpret the “work life balance” idea – a concept that I have had a problem with since I first came across it because everyone’s definition of balance is so different.
At the risk of sounding like I am looking back at the good old days… I’m going to look back at the good old days! Yes, the 1980’s were a long LONG time ago and it really seemed like a totally different age for estate agents in so many ways. It absolutely was not perfect. Casual racism and sexism abounded, and what relatively lax regulations existed were often ignored or sneered at – all BAD things. However, I recall an overwhelming work ethic amongst my peers. The idea that working harder really was smarter too and definitely better for customers and client outcomes.
It was not unusual for offices to stay open until 8pm at night and seven day a week opening really was the norm. Fees (as a percentage of the then selling prices) were a lot higher on average than now and that meant that the average estate agency employee earnt more money relatively speaking. Now I do not want to confuse causation with correlation but it does make me wonder if there really was (and still is) a connection here.
Here is a simple example of what I mean…
I would suggest that, although the general working hours are significantly more flexible than they once were, a high proportion of prospective buyers and sellers do not work at weekends (particularly on a Sunday) and have an expectation or at least a hope, to view homes and even arrange a marketing appraisal at a time that is more convenient to them. However, in my experience most estate agents are actually closed on a Sunday – at precisely the time that their prospective customers are looking to do business.
Even on a Saturday, many estate agent offices close by 2pm and frequently operate on reduced full timer staffing levels, preferring to utilise part time employees to conduct viewings. Either way and for whatever reason, it certainly does not for an “optimal customer experience” in my view. Perhaps it’s the agency owner who needs to work harder at resourcing their branches at weekends, or individuals need to work longer hours, I’m simply not sure. All I do know is that as an industry we do not appear to be offering the levels of service and opportunity that our customers should and do expect in a seven day a week economy.
Please do not accuse me of seeking to avoid working in a smarter manner. I’m sure that you (as I) utilise a range of AI tools that, without question, improve efficiency and make life a little easier. I just wonder whether the work life balance concept has tipped a little too much away from the needs of our customers toward the preferences of the individual estate agents and firms.
So in a world in which we are constantly and correctly encouraged to value mental health, family time and relationships I simply wonder whether we should…
Work harder AND smarter.
Simon Bradbury is a consultant specialising in securing new instructions and runs a (very) small estate agency powered by eXp.
Comments (2)
Some fair points have been raised, especially as agents are supposed to work on behalf of the seller. Sellers need footfall and by not opening when prospective buyers are free to visit, (all weekend), agents deserve the lack of respect they seem to have in Britain.
The other bug bear is, how did agents in the 1970’s & 1980’s work without internet advertising? From what I see today, most agents just wait hopefully for an enquiry via Rightmove, etc. This is not working as far as I’m concerned and it is another reason people look at the majority of agents receiving payment for no real effort. Through hard experience, local agents have the edge and I don’t mean the big nationals claiming to be local, they do not work like to small independents that really need to sell property to make a crust.
It would be interesting if agents worked for the buyer and had to search for properties, including those that aren’t on the market. This happens in other parts of the world, but other parts of the world have left the UK and it’s poor productivity behind.
As a former conveyancer from the same era as Simon, I couldn’t agree more. Back in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, it felt as though estate agents and conveyancers worked far more closely together. We met regularly to discuss issues, share ideas and find practical solutions.
I appreciate that we now live in a world where a healthier work-life balance is rightly valued. However, I do wonder whether, in some cases, we’ve gone too far the other way, with less collaboration and communication than the profession once enjoyed.