The working from home revolution is the question in vogue taking place in digital boardrooms … [+]
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The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown has had a profound impact on the working habits of millions across the country as many have had to adapt to working from home with the embrace of nascent technologies to maintain their lines of communication. And as the joys of home working and the growing obsolescence of both a commute and an office burgeon, a recent and ongoing survey from the property industry recruiter Rayner Personnel found that two-thirds of agents surveyed want to go self-employed, or have more flexibility to work from home.
But as a historically brick and mortal industry, how does this shift in industry sentiment reflect upon the future for property agents and consumers?
Culture shift? Or Culture shock?
The working from home revolution is the question in vogue taking place in digital boardrooms throughout the country. And having had a taste of life outside of the commute and the corporate walls of the office, many employees now favour the option to continue working from home for some days of the week, or even permanently, as part of the ‘new normal’ once lockdown is lifted.
But it is not a shift taken lightly, and just as employers will be cautiously analysing the costs and benefits on their workforce, so too will workers have to determine whether working from home, or in the agency case that I’ll be looking at, going self-employed is really more advantageous to them. Because when it comes to the consumer side of property, who will people trust more – a lone agent, or an experienced brand? This has turned into a rather dichotomous debate in recent weeks, and in a webinar on the future of PropTech PTAC and property market post-COVID that I participated in on Tuesday, leading PropTech and estate agency voices showed the split in debate over the value and potential benefit of agents either working from home or taking the plunge to go self-employed.
Looking at the flexible, work-from-home model, there are some obvious benefits to one’s operational freedom and flexibility, and for those of us with children the extra time available to spend with them through flexibility working is a blessing, albeit more like a hidden blessing for some.
And, from the employer side there are naturally concerns that arise from this. Can the worker maintain expected high standards of efficiency, quality, and productivity? It’s not always about the time stamped – one such survey from the recruitment platform IrishJobs.ie published last month found that 40% of employees were working longer hours from home during the lockdown. Nevertheless, a recent survey also found that 60% of workers would like to continue working from home after lockdown restrictions are lifted, suggesting freedom of movement may weigh more than work hours invested.
Flexibility of the agency model
I’ve spoken previously about how consumer priorities might change in the wake of the coronavirus, with the digital transformation of businesses affording workers the option to move away from conventional commutes and modes of working. But it may not be so easy to apply in the estate agency setting that has been a traditional brick and mortal industry. The rise of online agents in recent years having yet proven unable to significantly dent the gilded market share of the established names. Yet these days the delivery of one’s role within an organisation can be significantly augmented with technologies, allowing them to go beyond flexible working. I’m sure you’re familiar with the term ‘Agile Working’, which the British Computer Society refers to as ‘a way of working in which an organisation empowers its people to work where, when and how they choose – with maximum flexibility and minimum constraints – to optimise their performance and to do their best work’.
Looking at it from the estate agency perspective, there are obvious gains to be had from a wider adoption of the work-from-home model that can be passed on to the consumer. For those unaware, estate agency is very much a commission-based role, and it is often why an agent is usually available late into the night and across weekends, with high-street branches open to accommodate the weekend visitors.
Within an industry that heavily depends on agent mobility and flexibility to respond to client queries, facilitate viewings and manage a transaction from the registration of interest to completion, I see the decentralisation of the workplace as a real potential gamechanger, and judging by the recent industry surveys, many agents agree. The knock-on benefits this could have to employee productivity and mental health are far too significant to discount and this subsequently should result in a better customer experience passed on to consumers in the market.
There is a flipside to this model however in that it only really works if the technology that drives the agency experience, exists to support it. A lot of agencies during lockdown have identified that their software was not good enough to keep them productive in a geo-fluid setting whilst others moved almost seamlessly from one environment into the next.
It is all about the brand
Looking now towards the self-employment model, many of the costs and benefits of flexible working are transferable to agents hoping to branch out on their own, amplifying the allure of going out on one’s own and achieving personal success. However, to succeed, the self-employed agent will require an entrepreneurial skillset and a strong work ethic. But perhaps the most difficult challenge, yet of the greatest necessity to succeed, will be for the self-employed agent to build their own personal brand.
For consumers, this brand can very much be a factor when buying or selling a home. Buying a home is as much a large-scale financial as an emotional decision. With such a complex purchasing decision set, it’s understandable that customers gravitate towards trusted and reliable leading agencies in the market, such as household brands Savills, Chestertons, and Winkworth. Or they go for longstanding and reputable names with a proud history of serving their local regions like Kimmitt & Roberts, Lawrence Rand, and Martyn Gerrard.
What these names often have over the self-employed model is historic access to significant volumes of Big Data. One of the most valuable resources for any agency is the information in their database, because they can use it to enhance the customer experience by matching them more efficiently with their ideal property. The reliability of this model is often what encourages customers to go with agencies, and these brands are built on their ability to deliver – something that consumers may be particularly partial to in a time op upheaval and uncertainty.
Great agency, repeat business, and reputation are all built on trust. So, for self-employed agents to emulate and succeed in this offering they will need not only a stellar work ethic but an awareness of what their brand can offer to their perspective clients. As the venerable Peter Knight, founder of The Property Academy, told Chris Watkins, estate agency mentor and YouTube personality, on the latter’s show discussing self-employed agents: ‘Whatever your business model is, you’ve got to be exceptionally good at it.’ Irrespective of the business model chosen by an agent or agency, that basic mantra must hold true.
Evolution is a deep breath and a wide perspective
The newfound flexibility found amidst a crisis, augmented with available and emerging technologies to enhance the agency service offer and the customer experience, means that agents can define the working lifestyle that best suits them whilst continuing to deliver a world-class experience to their clients. As Sam Hunter, COO of the property portal Homesearch so succinctly defines it in a recent article: ‘An agent’s job will always be to give the best quality communication and the best advice.’ It would seem you do not need to be in one physical place all the time to do that.
In closing, the property trade is in a real botanical phase where growth and digital evolution are developing hand in hand with new consumer requirements. As we move into a new state of technological innovation and workplace adaption, I believe that the future of the property industry is very bright indeed for agents and consumers alike.