Estate agencies rely on their staff to deliver a smooth property buying and selling experience for clients, so it is important to ensure all HR issues are taken into account to keep staff productive and engaged.
Common HR issues for estate agents
Estate agents often have difficulty retaining staff, but having good HR management in place can encourage staff loyalty.
Some of the HR considerations which all businesses within the property sector need to be aware of include:
- Performance management
- Industry-specific health and safety issues
- Implementation of bonus schemes
- Recruitment of talented staff
- Work within legal and regulatory frameworks
Experienced HR consultants for estate agents
PeoplePointHR has experience of working with a range of estate agents across the industry and understands the unique challenges they face.
Our experienced team of HR and employment law experts can assist you with business focussed solutions to deal with these issues and make your organisation successful.
Recruitment services for estate agents
As with any industry, recruiting the right staff will have an overall positive effect on the success of your business.
Recruitment processes
Putting in place thorough and fair recruitment processes will mean you only employ the best candidates, and you are less likely to encounter performance management issues at a later stage.
Discrimination
When recruiting staff, it is important to not discriminate at any stage. From writing a job advertisement to selecting candidates to interview, and eventually recruiting a new staff member, all of your processes must be fair.
Recruitment assessments
As the industry traditionally experiences high rates of staff turnover, it might be beneficial to conduct additional assessments such as a psychometric assessment or personality questionnaire to help ensure only the candidates who are the right fit for the job are invited to interview.
Employee engagement
If your employees are engaged in their work, they are more likely to generate sales and increase revenue for your business.
Fair and effective recruitment processes can help attract and retain talented staff, reducing the likelihood of having to recruit again in the near future.
Recruitment can be a costly and time-consuming process which can distract from revenue-generating tasks so it is important to get it right.
Working on commission
Many of the roles within estate agencies have a sales-based focus, and so many employees earn commission based on their sales.
Although the possibility of earning substantial commission can be a motivating factor for staff, it is important to make sure your commission awarding strategies are fair and legal.
A time-related pay structure means paying your employees an annual salary or an hourly rate, and firms can use either a time-related or performance-related pay structure or a combination of the two.
Annual salary with additional commission
Many estate agency managers choose to pay their staff a lower annual salary on the understanding that the rest of their salary will come from commission.
Others use commission as an added bonus in addition to an annual salary as part of a rewards package, or even use solely performance-related pay.
Performance related pay system
If you choose to use only a performance-related pay system, you must still ensure that employees’ pay meets the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage.
Your chosen pay arrangements should be detailed in employee contracts of employment so that your staff understands what their annual salary will be and how the commission will be awarded.
Regulatory frameworks
Under the Estate Agents Act of 1979, individual agents can be issued with warning orders or banning orders which prevent them from practising as an estate agent.
The aim of the regulation is to offer protection to consumers and businesses against wrongdoing in the industry and discourage estate agents from malpractice.
Banning orders
If an estate agent receives a banning order, they are able to appeal the order, and if successful, return to the industry.
Trading Standards maintains a public register of banning and warning orders against estate agents, and managers should consult this during their recruitment processes to ensure they only employ trustworthy agents who will act in the best interests of their clients.
How PeoplePointHR can help estate agents
Our HR consultants have a thorough understanding of the unique challenges faced by estate agents, letting agents and other businesses operating in the property industry.
With PeoplePointHR by your side, you can focus on the important matters of leading your teams, empowering them to make sales and providing a seamless service for clients.
PeoplePointHR services
Our services to estate agents include:
- Specialist consultant available by phone, email or face to face to provide support when you need it
- Advice on industry-specific employment law issues, including performance related pay and working within industry regulations
- Assistance with health and safety compliance
- Drafting contracts of employment which take into account the unique challenges of the sector
- Help with recruiting and retaining the right staff for your business
- Assistance with disciplinary and grievance procedures and representation at employment tribunals
- Handling payroll, annual leave, sickness leave and parental leave
For specialist HR services and advice for estate agents, contact us today on 0330 555 2555.
