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Matthew Sullivan
Over 90 per cent of real estate professionals claim they offer a formal induction program to new recruits, new data has found. But not everybody has agreed with the findings.
Century 21 chairman Charles Tarbey was surprised to hear that in a recent Real Estate Business straw poll, 93.8 per cent of the 628 respondents claimed they provided new recruits with a formal induction program.
Mr Tarbey believed the results might be plausible if the majority of respondents were from larger franchise groups. Otherwise, he said, formal inductions are "simply not there.”
“There’s a whole bunch of principals out there that say, 'what’s the point in inducting recruits'. You get them in, train them and then they leave you,” he said.
Agencies that do not see the point in offering a formal induction program to new recruits run the risk of having under qualified staff over the longer term, Mr Tarbey said. Only the untrained staff tend to stay longer with a company, as they don't have the skills that other organisations want, he said.
“I think getting new recruits in and sharing your knowledge with those people is the only way to make it work.”
PS Recruitment director Paula Simoes was also surprised by the findings, however she questioned how some agencies might define a 'formal' induction program.
“To me, a formal induction program is a systemised approach which includes meetings with staff and managerial appraisals,” she said.
Sharon Bennie, director of real estate and property recruitment specialist firm Sharon Bennie, agreed. “Some of our clients do two to three days offsite, which is incredibly thorough, and obviously not possible for all scales of business.”
“We’ve found that most of the businesses we work with, at least 85 per cent, are extremely professional and do have a formal induction process. However many of the companies that candidates are coming out of do not."
She believed that around a quarter of staff decide in their first two weeks whether to remain in their new position, "so the process is critical."
"I have read a lot of commentary out of Apple this week following Steve Jobs standing down," she continued. "One of the statements was around the power of induction and the importance that it played in building respect between managers and employees.
"On the day of commencement, the first three months should be mapped out for them including a full day blocked out for ‘on boarding’ at a minimum. You should also ensure that your whole team knows they are starting."
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