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Think outside the box for recruitment, says leading PM coach

With more than 50 people present at a breakfast specifically for property management (PM) professionals and business owners, leading business coach Fiona Blayney this week had some important messages to deliver to helpย attendees think outside the box to address the current talent shortage.

Blayney opened the breakfast by saying “I may be slightly directย in my delivery, but I am here to help you all think differently about solving a real problem!”

Quoting current industry job figures and statistician Mark McCrindle, Blayney noted that when recruiting for property management staff, candidates today are looking for less to do, more time to do it and more money. Noting that times have changed, there are less ‘traditionally qualified’ candidates out there than jobs available, and along with that a shortage of good people with the ‘traditional type of experience’ that PM businesses look to recruit. Added to this,ย the talent pool has decreasedย and available jobs have increased means that some experienced candidates are now commanding six-figure salaries, with some having more 12 interviews within 24 hours.

“These candidates are looking to maximise money, personal time, holidays, bonus and even shareholdings because the market right now allows them to do this. Secondary to these factors, they are also looking for great culture, training, environment, location, opportunities and the type of portfolio they might be running.”

While this might sound bleak, Blayney also noted that “the problem is not necessarily the problem”, and while you can’t change the market or the candidate you can change the way you think about recruiting.

“We are lucky in real estate that it is an industry that everyone participates in. Everyone participates in property in some way. Managing property is not necessarily the hard thing, we all know what to do with a leaking tap. Managing people is hard, but managing property is not.”

Given this fact, Blayney urged the room to look for people with good ‘basic life-skills’ that could be taught the nuances of property management; noting that some industries including hospitality, call centres, and many others have good people with good negotiating and problem-solving skills that are easily transferable into a property career.

“Find people that like property and people! The key skills you want to look for are communication, time management, conflict resolution, negotiation, basic maths and driving. The rest can be taught to people who are interested, and there are plenty of them who are. There are flexible ways of training on the job, working from home, job sharing, and using cloud technology that should make you think differently about what might be possible. And all of a sudden the pool of candidates becomes much larger.”

The bottom line?

“Don’t be afraid to experiment. We experiment in our business with what works and what doesn’t. Have a go at some of the crazy ideas to keep the team engaged. You will find that your team might like the opportunity to try something new or do something differently. You can create a real fun atmosphere by doing this and sometimes this leads to people working longer hours from being more engaged.”

But there is one caveat.

“Of course you should always be regularly reviewing your processes – all your processes, not just recruitment – for ROI. They must add to your bottom line in some way. The average human in a property management business costs around $1 per minute. Don’t keep doing things because that’s ‘how you’ve always done them’ and be open to new ways of thinking and solving problems when someone smarter than you comes along.”

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Samantha McLean

Samantha McLean is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Elite Agent and Host of the Elevate Podcast.