A growing number of estate agents are looking for a greater work-life balance, which includes working from home, according to Property Personnel.
The recruitment consultancy is warning that estate agents must offer greater flexibility in the workplace by adapting to the changing trend in the market or they will fail to secure or retain the very best candidates.
“Flexibility is key if firms want to hold onto good staff. Working from home is a massive magnet at the moment and employees will simply leave if they no longer think they are getting the best deal,” said Property Personnel’s managing director Anthony Hesse.
Hesse points out that the Office of National Statistics only last week confirmed that job vacancies have risen to record levels.
He explained: “This means that candidates are being particularly picky about which roles they go for, and employers are having to compete with each other to offer the most attractive working conditions.”
Aside from flexibility, Hesse also believes that more agents are looking to save money by restricting trips into the office in light of soaring inflation – and rising living costs.
“They are likely to prioritise anything that helps them cut costs, including the price of the daily commute,” he said.
Hesse added that one of the legacies of the coronavirus pandemic is that working from home is in his view “both possible and effective” , with many candidates now seeing it “as part of the normal order of things – in other words, not just as a perk, but as a right”.
However, Hesse points out that the issue is complicated, and is in danger of creating a ‘two tier’ workforce, divided between those who work from home and those who don’t.
He continued: “There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach here. The wish to work from home is not evenly spread throughout the workforce. New employees, graduates, anyone undergoing training is likely to value the social interaction of the office and will seize the opportunity to be part of a team, rather than enduring the dispiriting isolation of solo-working from a back bedroom.
“There’s also a division between those roles which can feasibly be carried out from a home environment, and those which can’t. In estate agency, managers and negotiators in sales and lettings departments are more likely to be needed at the office, apart from the times when they’re out and about on viewings and valuations.
“But for those in support roles, perhaps in property management, renewals, tenancy progression or administration, such as office co-ordinators, there is clearly much more scope to work from home.
“However, such differences might not lead to an easy fit for the roles on offer and could prove disruptive and difficult to manage. For example, if two days working from home are allowed each week, only some of the people will be able to get their first choice of doing so on a Monday and Friday. How will those days be allocated?
“Similarly, should working from home be specifically mentioned in contracts, or considered as an occasional extra? If it’s down to the line-manager to decide, there’s a danger that a sense of unfairness will start to build. So, managers will need to be well-versed in discrimination law, with every decision they make open to rigorous analysis.
“Those wishing to work from home will also need to take into account that employers may want to match their pay to their home location, which may well be cheaper.”
Hesse believes that flexibility is key if firms want to hold onto good staff.
He added: “Before the pandemic I would never have considered the prospect of my staff working from home. But now my office manager lives and works three counties away, and it works brilliantly.
“Within estate agency, the coronavirus pandemic merely sped up what was probably going to happen anyway. WFH is already part of the working landscape, so there’s no point anybody trying to fight it, hoping it will quietly go away. Personally, I’m convinced it’s set to remain, in some form or other, permanently. Which is why it’s currently such a key issue in estate agency recruitment and employers ignore it at their peril.”
Comments (12)
Lazy mentality and people’s approach to working in 2022.
Nothing better than getting to work as a team and seeing results face to face.
Ideas bouncing around and good communication between teams.
I’ve seen it recently with interviews for a trainee position and interviewee’s expecting Saturdays off to watch football matches, or for regular social events.
Yes there is an idea from many young people that work has to fit around their social life. The age if entitlement.
Oh, God forbid these people have a social life outside of work. In my day we had to work twenty hour day at mill for tuppence a month.
WFH works for some… but not others.
From a company perspective, working from the office is infinitely more preferred over working from home. However from an employee viewpoint working from home is preferred. Some job roles can accommodate this, others cant.
@Eagle60 – If companies are missing out on “good quality talent” then those individuals obviously aren’t the right fit for that company.
@Woodentop – Some people can work really well from home, more so than in an office as they have less distractions and can therefore focus on providing clients with an impeccable service.
Making generalised comments one way or the other is nonsense as it entirely depends on the induvial and the role that they will be undertaking.
Didn’t say some doesn’t work from home for some, I was highlighting the pitfalls of going down this route for both parties. It takes a special person to be committed to actually focus on a full days work and not get distracted on more personal subjects or as often found, some put more into non-business activities and want to be paid for a full days work while WFH. How do you monitor it, how does an employer know they are actually getting full benefit for the salary? Shall this lead to new pay structure, paid by performance targets and what business wants to go down that route with setting/managing logistics? Now that will be a spoiler by those that thought they could pull a fast one staying at home!
Oh I know first hand how difficult it is managing people working from home and personally I much prefer people in the office. I am a huge advocate of office working and personally think that you get much more done… as you are focussed only on your work (too easy to be distracted at home, again I know from personal experience).
I agree with you, but I know many others who work just as well if not better from home (specifically within accounts) as they’re not bothered with inconsequential nonsense in the office.
I was able to out perform my productivity whilst WFH and avoid a horrendous and expensive commute. I will now only consider WFH at my current salary, I will consider going back into the office for a considerable increase in salary to pay for my London commuting costs, and 2 hours of commuting time a day, (plus the 40% tax). I have explained this repeatedly to headhunters who also say they heard this a lot from those they reach out to. If you’re happy to pay potentially 50% more of their salary to secure quality employees which will be office based, that’s understandable. If not I suggest you will be missing out on a lot of good quality talent that are aware they can be more productive and happier WFH.
I do not have anyone working from home.
We have not missed out.
Working from home is far less productive.
From the author of:
“My ancestors were in a word war for 5 years
I am sick of snowflakes saying they have been stressed sitting on a sofa watching net flicks in a lockdown
What will these people do when they have a real problem,”
I’m not surprised you hold an archaic position on the WFH matter.
We tried it during Covid, it doesn’t work long term. The team became disjointed and irritable, communication suffered and they did not perform to their usual high level (and I am saying that about a team who are beyond exemplary usually). I put this down, very much, to the fact that to be an agent you have to be personable, outgoing and friendly and working from home doesn’t provide for that. I personally despise working from home, I do it now and again when I have something that needs my utter undivided focus, but it’s rare because I just hate the solitude of it.
The first lockdown wasn’t so bad, in so far as there was very little to do each day and it gave them some focus for a few hours (we cut down our working hours just to allow us to keep on top of urgent matters) and everyone was in the same boat, so it was simply accepted that this was our lot, the weather was nice, we had our families around us…
The second lockdown my team wanted to head home again and I let them, but, of course, full working hours and it was dark when they got up and dark when they went to bed, by March they were screaming to come back and have never uttered a single word about working from home since! Enough said…. it doesn’t work for us and we proved it in real time.
Working from home is a current day …. ‘fab trend’ which far too many have jumped onto the band wagon and shouldn’t be working from home. Some yes, essentially none key workers and more in keeping with administrative tasks but even they for their own well being and sanity need company in an office environment. I know many who work from home and have done for years, way before Covid and they all have the same traite …… slightly odd, not the jovial member of a group, seem withdrawn when they meet others, one could even say out of touch, just like kids today with buried heads in the iPhone with no communication skills when it taken away from them. Disclaimer: I’m sure someone will say there are normal ones.
I hear it being championed by many who really are trying to make it an easy life for themselves or frankly are lazy or those that are lemmings joining the new ‘fab way’ because it can be done …. but more importantly should it be done that way?
Lets get the childcare one out of the way. That is not the job requirement, it is the employees circumstances and down to the employer to consider if workable.
When a company allows its workforce to dictate how its wants to work which is not in the best interest of the company or at complete odds with what is required … find another employee or the company is at serious risk.
Who really needs ‘working from home’? There are many reasons for and against but in the main limited effective use for the company, its efficiency and essential immediate/effective communication that only an office/shop environment can provide (proven time and again by the failing on-liners within our industry who have spent multi £m’s and still fail). It hinders its public/customer experience (the list is long) and can be best summed up by trying to contact any company that has its workforce working from home and that long, long wait with the message …. “your call is important to us, please wait” and after an hour, you hang up.
What about the well being of the employee? Camaraderie is so important and keeps insanity at bay. The mental well being of being in an office is recognised as mentally stimulating, effective communication, skills and its development, assistance, improved learning and advancement opportunities within the business. If you want to stay at home, fine but don’t expect an employer to put you at the top when you come for an job interview. Does this mean working from home could actually be a disadvantages for progression? Know doubt some will argue it wouldn’t, but is that in general or the exception and again who is this situation for, the company or the employee? You work for a business, not the other way around and run the risk of being on a slippery slope … company and employee!
After reading this article, how can you staff bounce ideas, interact and greet your walks customers from there beds? Enjoy the office environment which is such a great space to be, on to one personal training, you are more interactive and active in an office, think in your feet, buzz when the office phones are ringing one after an other, the work production is increased, sometimes added urgency tasks and emergency’s walk in.
MicoHome is LAZY
So how do I know this ? Seen it with my own eyes, Yes they do work from the beds, sat in pjs all day, Laid with a laptop or even on the floor, it’s not a good look for a corporate company.
where is the sense of pride and dress code? Where is the excitement in the voices when dealing with clients.
After the last 2 years of valuations I have meet 90% of the sellers, showing me around the house in work times, and having to be quick as they are talking calls while I am doing my job in person,
running into the bedrooms to wiggling the mouse so the bosses think they are working, when outside they tell me that it’s the best thing to happen, they have drop 50% of the work due to taking time and spreading this out, go shopping anytime chill out and don’t wish to go back to work at office as they have to work harder.
I can always tell someone is working from homes by how they are speaking to me over the phone, you can always hear the lack tones in voice.
”Hey it’s Andy”
”Ya called and I am returning it”
The laziness in the voice is absolutely appalling, not professional at all.
what is happening to the us as a working nation, we are going to lose this proud working nation attitude for a SAD Robo World
it’s a sad 2022