haart has launched its own ‘New Deal’ for estate agency, announcing the first appointments to its new national Partnership scheme.
It says that in line with the Government’s ambitions to kickstart the economy post coronavirus, with its Roosevelt-style multi-million pound investment programme, haart too is playing its role, outlining its own plans to grow the haart network nationwide.
Stephen McDonald from Blaby, Holly Newman from Rushden and Chris Murton from Thanet are leading the charge, with 250 more Partners set to follow.
The company is inviting applicants for the new roles, starting in the West Midlands, Leeds, Brighton, Southampton, the Oxford-Cambridge corridor and in additional locations around their existing Bristol Property Centre.
Managing Director Antony Lark explained:
“We’ve set the ball rolling by promoting three of our existing Branch Managers into the new roles, which will see them working from home or from our Local Property Centres, with all the benefits associated with being fully employed, not self-employed.
“We’re also creating a Partnership Academy to bring new talent into the industry.
“Plus we will be investing in our existing Elite branch network and developing our Local Property Centres alongside our Partnership programme.
“It’s critical at this time that the industry responds to the changing needs of the public, not least following the coronavirus outbreak, and we will be expanding into other areas not previously covered by haart.”
Holly Newman said she appreciated the flexibility of the new role:
“I’m really looking forward to a much better work-life balance. Without the need to cover an office all day, I can also provide clients with a much more flexible service.
“We’ve got a strong brand with great technology and marketing behind us, as well as the support of our Local Property Centres and national call centre.”
Stephen McDonald added:
“I’m really excited by this new chapter in my career as it gives me a great opportunity to control my own destiny.
“It’s a management-level role, giving me complete responsibility for my location, but is also offers wider career opportunities.”
“We have all the benefits and security of being fully employed,” said Chris Murton. “But the best part is that we can earn far more than we did as branch managers, with great commission spurring us on to deliver a fantastic service.”
haart has previously announced that although some physical branch locations will close, nearly all will still be covered by Partners working in the same area.
Comments (15)
As I read the comments on this thread and the article itself I am trying to work out the motives of the authors. According to the BBC half the adult population of the UK have been working from home during the lockdown, and for many a return to the office may never happen.
Many in real estate have spoken to me about business as usual, and then asked what that usual is?Having opened a new business on the 1st of May 2020 myself, Proptech-PR during ‘Lockdown’. And having acquired nearly 25-new clients in less than 7-weeks, against a yearly target of ten, I have to say I will never be looking to rent or buy office premises, or ever ask the team to work anywhere else than at ‘home’ or variant of.
Moreover, our only advert was a paragraph in my personal linkedIN – the rest was down to the resourcefulness of the team, who for two months did not share the same office space once.
All our clients wanted was the most advanced solutions to their problems, and they contacted us via every medium, apart from Tik Tok, and we got back to them, met them on video conferences, over 47 in month one, and took their brief and did the work.Covid-19 forced our hand, in the end it saved us thousands of pounds, gave the team the flexibility to do the job, and the consumer – well, just consumed our service.
What is the relevance? Well if I was 23 again, would my first thoughts at setting up an estate agency be: – premises? a big sales team? doing agency like everyone else? Or would I be thinking – Gen-Z populate half the globe, in 5 years they will start to be an increasing part of the consumers in the real estate sector. How will they start to transact?
Answer via a tiny oblong with a glass front – a mobile, from here they find the stock they want be it to rent or buy, then the message the agent, view and buy. Does this involve for the consumer a need to ‘visit’ a physical branch? No, do they need to view the property or let? Yes.
Does the consumer care if the agent works from an office in the high street, or from home or their bathroom? No. They just want a smooth transaction, and increasingly, technology is powering this. Take Offr.io for example – technology empowering the sales process, very consumer friendly.
Many employees will not join companies who are not tech pioneers, as they see them as old fashioned and likely to become woolworth’s or thomas cooke, so working from home / the office, you are all missing the point, it is what the consumer favours.
In 2019 – 60,000 consumers used Purplebricks to list their homes, that is more listings than Countrywide, Connells and Sequence added together and some.
Me I am not a big fan of agency lite models, but the public is voting with their feet, so whilst agents can get in a bun fight about Mr Smith, those who do not understand that the way we buy and sell things is changing forever may very soon realise they were looking at the wrong things, and realise too late that where you trade from is irrelevant, it is the customer experience that is king.
Has to be one of the most articulate and considered views I have read on PIE. Whilst others look on and seek just to criticise it appears that SH may just be getting on with their own knitting!
Average cost per month of a Haart branch circa 13.5k (Guestimate)
Closing 27 branches, replace with a bedroom agent on a salary circa and a bit of stationary / software 2k
This is not Haart doing their bit for the economy, this is Haart cost cutting as the well is dry.
How does growing into 250 new locations represent cost cutting! Surely it’s more investment?
Potentially 250.
And i bet if it does work (which it will not) they will close further branches or you will find they switch to a self-employed model.
Isn’t this similar to Andrew Grant Estate Agents, closing branches and working from a “Hub” ?
How’d that work out for them?
Surely you don’t see this as a like for like comparison?
Quite!
I expect spicerhaart will not be the last of the traditional models to make a change like this. In fact they have reacted quicker than anybody else which has to be seen as a positive. I can see many BMs in traditional operations at least being intrigued to find out more. Very interesting times!! As with any company trying to do something innovative for our industry I genuinely wish them well.
…amazing how a positive, balanced, well written response gets a thumbs down – there goes Jonny!
*We’ve set the ball rolling by promoting three of our existing Branch Managers into the new roles (without a pay rise), which will see them working from home (rent isn’t our problem) or from our Local Property Centres, with all the benefits associated with being fully employed (very low basic with small upside), not self-employed (more risk and we don’t make as much if the broker is successful).
We’re also creating a Partnership Academy to bring new talent into the industry. (Cheap)*
I love drivel like this, what the bloke is really saying in a roundabout way is…. we are engaging in a massive cost cutting exercise, end of story.
It can’t be anything but.
These three were really pleased with the opportunity?
The work life balance mentioned again, how naive.
What was the alternative I wonder?…..
How many others have not had the opportunity, or have had anyone engage with them since they were let go on a conference call back in March?
I just ask the question, who in their right mind would consider this?
I guess we just have to be pleased that some of these hard working people are being deployed elsewhere.
For that reason alone I hope everything works out.
Explains all the closed haart offices with whitewashed windows – loads wont re-open and lots of staff chopped.
How does ‘250 new, additional roles, covering all postcodes in England and Wales, necessitating a massive recruitment drive, new people to come in and the setting up of a new partnership Academy equate to ‘lots of staff chopped’?
As a recruiter…would you not welcome the opportunity to recruit people into great, new, full-time positions, are do you not have any candidates, hence time on your hands to troll Spicerhaart at every opportunity?