Many real estate companies – whether owner/operators or third party managers – who are looking to hire property management and leasing talent often face obstacles because they use outdated strategies, or inappropriate tactics to fill these niche positions. While in their own minds, they believe they have covered all the bases with a comprehensive talent acquisition strategy, the reality is quite different from the point of view of passive candidates. TalentWoo discusses the 4 things your real estate company is doing that probably will NOT result in an property management or leasing professional hire, and why:
Posting your job on Careerbuilder.com or Monster.com
While it is true that many passive candidates may infrequently check the major job boards for current openings, these two websites have fallen out of favor with many candidates within the last ten years. Sure, you can use better posting sites like Indeed, or even specialty boards for very specific talent, but remember, most talent in America is gainfully employed and you want a better strategy than “Post and Pray.” See how your competitors are bypassing this antiquated method of hiring in this article on GlobeSt. which discusses the tight labor market for talent, and an alternative strategy for property management staffing. This is the most time-efficient and cost-effective property management staffing approach.
Listing your job on your company career site
This is a best practice, of course. We would never suggest that a company not list their current openings on their careers page. But this is not a strategy; this is just covering your bases. Unless you are a well-known Fortune 500 company, or have spent significant time and money creating an enticing employer brand, your best hires will not likely come from your career page. Focus your property management staffing instead on a strategy to DRIVE traffic to the careers page.
Going to a job fair
In many cities there are career fairs: college career fairs; military career fairs; and other types of career fairs put on by government employment agencies. These can sometimes work for entry-level roles, or roles that don’t require specific skills. If you’re willing to train; this can be an option.
However, for specialty roles like property managers, unless the fair is part of a larger real estate-focused convention, this may not be the best use of your time. Many markets require that their property management professionals have licenses and/or certifications to conduct transactions for your company.
TalentWoo recommends that you save your time and “booth money” for a job marketing campaign strategy that attracts passive candidates, specifically those from your competitors and who have the required training and certifications. This will boost your property management staffing efforts.
Farming your job out to 5 or 6 contingency real estate recruiters (an approved vendor list)
Pitting several real estate recruiting agencies against each other actually drives down candidate quality. The premise is basically that using multiple vendors simultaneously to accomplish anything, while promising only to pay the one who finishes first, creates a dynamic where vendors are no longer interested in quality work. Quality suffers, scope suffers, costs increase (to cover the risk of lost time and resources), and the hiring company ultimately loses out. In no other industry does one ask for multiple suppliers to work for free, with no promise of payout. If you want quality, you have to select a quality vendor to partner with, and then treat them as a quality partner.
TalentWoo offers a unique partnership opportunity for real estate companies looking to onboard hard-to-find property management and leasing talent. We are able to cut the cost of property management staffing – often times by up to 50 to 75% – with our niche network, our recruitment process outsourcing solution and experienced recruiting consultants. By implementing passive candidate targeting strategies and aggressive job marketing tactics, we have been able to successfully hire thousands of candidates for our real estate clients, nationally. To hear more about TalentWoo can help your organization with game changing recruiting solutions, contact us today.