Attracting and retaining talent is a significant challenge in property management that is replicated across the wider industry.
A RICS report on a young leaders summit held at this year’s MIPIM commented: “The industry is currently struggling with a lack of new talent, as technological changes and new skills bring about business transformation. To attract people with emergent skills requires a change of mind and professional adaptation”.
In this context, the absolute necessity of nurturing a diverse intake is clear. At the simplest level it’s a numbers game. We must draw in a wider pool of entrants and then keep them. Most young people do not consider careers in property. Often this is because they have limited awareness of the opportunities or exposure to relevant role models.
In April, Women in Property joined forces with The Girls’ Network, a charity empowering young girls from the least advantaged communities, to run a property careers roadshow.
The evening started with a panel discussion in which senior women including Judge Siobhan McGrath, president of the Property Chamber, discussed their routes into property. The students
then toured the room exploring the possibilities of a career in the many disciplines that make up the built environment. It was a resounding success and a format which will be repeated.
It’s so important that we capture talent at entry level. But what do we do then? The gender pay gap, retainment and promotion tell a different story. The Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) membership statistics illustrate the retention issue: an equal gender balance at entry level but female representation diminishes through the higher ranks.
IRPM chief executive Andrew Bulder says: “It is clear from our membership demographic that residential property management is leading the way in the property sector, with just over 50% of
our membership being women. However, there is work still to be done, with that majority reversing as the membership class rises.
“I am confident that this will improve over time as more women rise through the ranks to senior positions, but we must remain forever focussed on diversity and transparently reporting the
position. Importantly, taking our eye off the meritocracy ball will waste talent that should be improving outcomes for our customers, communities and businesses.”
The days when parenthood limited women to marginalised, bit-part roles in the workplace must be consigned to history. We owe it to us all to keep pushing for a workplace in which everyone, including women, can thrive. This requires tackling everything from corporate culture where even now some hospitality still revolves traditionally male pursuits to the informal networking which unwittingly often excludes women.
Women in Property and The Girls’ Network understand that networking plays a hugely important role in sourcing opportunities, ongoing career development and influencing change. Doyenne, specifically focused on the leasehold sector, is another fine example.
Emily Orner, head of property management at SPL and advocate of Doyenne summarisesd the opportunities good networking can bring as:
Empowerment
Support
Emotional intelligence
Role Models
By supporting women throughout their careers, we can avoid a wasteful loss of talent. Emma Vigus, of TM Group, runs regular, Women in Residential Property networking lunches and describes the key benefit of cross sector networking groups – irrespective of the gender of attendees – as the opportunity to share insight and collaborate on solutions helping to break down industry silos.
The world of long leasehold is under scrutiny as never before. Soft skills are increasingly as important as technical expertise and success requires a blend. Diversity isn’t just woolly-headed political correctness: it’s vital to business survival.
