Login
iscover
Sadhana Smiles has rebuked the recent reporting of poor ethics by the Australian real estate profession — and is urging other leaders in the industry to do the same.
In a newsletter update sent out by Real Estate Industry Partners (REIP), chief executive Sadhana Smiles said she was “devastated” to read that real estate agents are only more ethical than Australia’s federal politicians in the eyes of Australian consumers, according to the latest edition of the Ethics Index from the Governance Institute of Australia.
She added that she was “even more disappointed” to dig deeper into the survey methodology and tactics she said “continually supports the narrative of the real estate industry as unethical”.
Noting ethics as “highly subjective”, Ms Smiles highlighted that ethics in the real estate industry is “linked to ensuring that we legally and morally do the right thing by our clients”.
“This survey doesn’t make clear what ethical standards they are actually measuring and when there is no clarity on a survey or on how the data is underpinned by the questions being asked, how can we even use it as a platform for improvement or judgment?” she queried.
From her perspective as CEO of REIP, she stressed that “the vast majority of people who work in this industry are highly ethical and work damn hard to deliver the best possible customer service and outcomes for their clients”.
Iterating that the profession “know[s] how important our reputation is to our business”, she said industry data — collected by customer surveys by all brands and offices — “does not match up with these findings” as purported by the Ethics Index.
It led her to pose the question: “Wouldn’t you think that for an industry that underpins the national economy, we would be invited to discuss why there is such a gap between industry data and surveys that continually spruik a negative rhetoric that tarnishes our industry?”
Ms Smiles has argued for more transparency around who is being surveyed, what is being asked, “and why these reports continue to sling mud at a handful of industries”.
Putting out the call to other leaders within the industry, she is inviting individuals “to stand up with me and support this industry and the people who continue to turn up day in and day out”.
“I know that if our industry data did indeed match up with these results, we as an industry would be highly concerned and would be implementing strategies for change,” she stated.
“Instead, we continue to see negative reports and ‘unethical’ perceptions of our industry used as content to build the credibility of others.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
Newsletter
