The benefits of diversity in any industry are immeasurable. Not only does a diverse team allow for unique perspectives and solutions to issues, but it also allows consumers to feel more welcome and represented within the business. However, building an inclusive agency must be done thoughtfully and with genuine intent.
Looking to attract and retain diverse real estate talent but not sure where to begin? Read on for expert insights from the members of Forbes Real Estate Council.
Members of Forbes Real Estate Council offer advice on attracting and retaining diverse employees.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Build Diversity Into Your Culture
The key is having a company culture that embraces diversity. This is something you can’t go and recruit for or even interview for. This is something that must be demonstrated on a day-to-day basis so that as potential candidates come in, they are sucked into a great employee experience. – Jack Markham
2. Make Your Team Reflective Of The World You Want To Live In
It’s the Kamala Harris effect. People need to see themselves or who they hope to one day become reflected in leadership roles. Plain and simple. When you’re paying lip service instead of putting in the work, it shows. On the flip side, when you make your team more reflective of the world you’d like to live in, things change for the better. – Bashar Wali, This Assembly
MORE FOR YOU
Forbes Real Estate Council is an invitation-only community for executives in the real estate industry. Do I qualify?
3. Give Your Team The Freedom To Express Themselves
The one thing almost everyone wants in a workplace environment is the freedom to express their authentic selves. Promoting a culture of creativity versus corporate monotony will increase the likelihood you attract all kinds of unique individuals into the real estate industry. Giving your associates a platform that complements their individuality is how you win in today’s workforce. – Kase Ellers, The Kase Ellers Group
4. Commit At The Leadership Level
It starts with leadership. If your organization is committed to a diverse workforce, you will retain employees as they will see the diverseness of the workforce and the work environment. Employees have to feel comfortable in the work environment. If you don’t have a diverse workforce now and hire one or two individuals, they have to be comfortable in that setting to stay with your company. – Alex Hemani, ALNA Properties
5. Look At The Larger Benefits Of Diversity
As an employer, you have to understand and believe that having a diverse workforce isn’t a favor you are doing for the world. Rather, it is fundamentally the means by which your organization becomes more effective, dynamic, intuitive, responsive and valuable. When employees who don’t look or speak like you know that you are eager for them to share their input on big decisions, your organization will flourish. – Matthew Moore, Moore Real Estate Group
6. Be Prepared To Offer What The Modern Workforce Wants
The labor markets have changed greatly over the last decade. People are getting opportunities in very different industries, often at far more lucrative levels than the real estate economic model supports. Attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is a combination of presenting a career path, leveraging new systems and technologies, and last, but certainly not least, attractive compensation. – Elik Jaeger, SuiteSpot Technology
7. Promote Inclusion And Learning
We focus on cultivating a culture of inclusion and learning while ensuring employees continue to grow and develop personally and professionally. Celebrating the diversity of our team within the construction industry, we utilize weekly training and company-wide check-ins for every team member to present a topic of their choice. It’s an opportunity for groups to interact across our sectors and services. – Adam Mopsick, Amicon
8. Be A Role Model To The Next Generation
In commercial real estate, one of the biggest challenges is getting new demographic groups to consider the field professionally, which starts long before they enter the working world. As kids, we envision ourselves in professional roles, and if we don’t have role models that look like us in a given profession, we grow up somewhat oblivious to opportunities. Plant seeds now for future change. – Gabriel Silverstein, SVN|Angelic
9. Foster Inclusivity From The Top Down
The key to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is to create a culture of inclusivity. This is a top-down approach. Your leadership and staff must be open to diversity and willing to learn and foster diversity and inclusion in the brokerage. The relationships they build and maintain with agents are key to attracting new talent. Provide your team the tools they need to create this. – Michelle Risi, Royal LePage Connect Realty
10. Demonstrate Your Commitment To Diversity
Walk the talk. Any organization wishing to increase workforce diversity must start by demonstrating an actual commitment. Promote existing minority employees to positions of authority, partner with minority financing institutions and hire vendors run by minority owners. Like most things in our economy, we vote with our dollars, so put yours in places where diversity will thrive. – Megan Micco, Compass
11. Focus On Attracting Experts
Speaking as an ethnic minority myself, I truly believe that the best approach is to focus on recruiting a diversity of talent. If you focus on attracting people who are experts in marketing, advertising and sales, you’re probably going to end up with a team that is as diverse as the community you’re based in. It’s that simple. – Kevin Markarian, Marker Real Estate
12. Be Open To Training Underskilled Applicants
Be fair and flexible. Applicants may not always have the prerequisite skills when they initially apply. When you hire based on the person and are open to training your team, it doesn’t really matter where they come from if they’re open to learning. Training the next generation isn’t as common as it should be. – Charles Argianas, Argianas & Associates, Inc.
13. Create Intentional Pathways For Diverse Employees
You have to intentionally create pathways for historically underrepresented groups. So much of what we see today is reactive lip service. There has to be a measurable and intentional plan with accountability behind it to provide opportunities to those who historically have not had them in the past. – Jonathan Keyser, Keyser
14. Address The Historic Barriers To Success For Underrepresented Groups
The key to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce is to create a culture that is inclusive and consciously addresses the historical barriers that have prevented many from achieving financial equality. Our firm is creating a real estate scholarship for underrepresented high school graduates to bring more economic and racial diversity into our firm. That’s just one example! – Courtney Poulos, ACME Real Estate
15. Start With Your HR And Management Teams
You get what you hire. Make sure you hire top-notch recruiters, HR staff and managers who not only understand the legal and political reasons why diversity is important but also understand the true value of having a diverse workforce. There’s a lot of value to having a diverse HR staff and management team, and it will go a long way in establishing a culture of diversity. – Nick Ron, House Buyers of America