It's a jungle out there. Just ask the human resources director at any real estate company how difficult it has become to track down and retain the best employees in this era of full employment and vigorous economic growth. You're likely to get an earful.

Even for non-executive level positions, the days when human resources departments could rely on classified advertising to accumulate resumes and find faithful, savvy, real estate-minded workers who add value to the bottom line are long gone. Nor can companies expect to retain treasured talent without building morale and loyalty through benefits and job satisfaction.

To deal with this new reality, real estate companies are implementing policies that encourage employee loyalty and turning to specialized headhunters, the Internet, and networking with industry insiders to uncover prospective staff members.

In today's tight talent market, even non-executive level employees are getting hard to find and keep.

Never Stop Looking

"The key issue is finding talent," said Paul Weinberg, director of human resources, Kimco Realty Corp., New Hyde Park, NY. Located on Long Island where the unemployment rate is just two percent, finding employees takes a long time for Kimco. "It's an involved effort to find the right people. We use headhunters, advertisements, and referrals. We also use the Internet for recruiting and we get a pretty good response to that."

Once they find employees, retaining them is not difficult. "When people come to Kimco they want to stay," said Weinberg. "The company is very people-oriented. We have an environment where the president and the chairman are truly concerned about the people who work here. It's reflected in how we pay them and recognize their achievements." "Since most people are unwilling to make changes in a good economy, it is a challenge for anybody in my business to be persuasive enough to bring satisfied people to the table," explained Martin D. Nass, senior partner of the national real estate practice leader, TMP Worldwide, an executive search firm in New York, NY. By specializing in real estate recruitment, Nass has been able to reduce a typical five to six month employee search for those with the technological, analytical, and strategizing skills required in today's real estate industry to between 90 and 120 days.

Charles E. Smith Residential Realty staff conduct 25 to 30 interviews a day and maintains a file of pre-qualified sales, leasing, and other professional candidates on an ongoing basis. "You've got to recruit all the time so that if a position opens you've already pre-identified, or at least have done a screening interview with someone who has a good chance of stepping into those shoes," said John Gray, senior vice president, residential management of the Arlington, VA REIT.

"You have to keep pouring water into the funnel so it continuously overflows," said Gray. "We have found that the people we're after will always come in and talk to us about future career opportunities."

Charles E. Smith employees carry a recruitment card to hand out to vendors of influence, trade associations, college recruiters, and industry insiders who may know somebody who is looking for a new position. "Everybody on our staff carries them. Even the custodians. We're out there trolling all the time," said Gray.

One Size Doesn't Fit All

Once names are accumulated, the company carries out its Stay-In-Touch program where every 45 days candidates receive a phone call, e-mail, or a letter with an inexpensive novelty gift. "The letter, with an enclosed magnifying glass says 'take a closer look at Charles E. Smith.'"

Once a candidate has been successfully hired, the company implements a non-scientific plan to retain them. "You keep them by giving them what they want," said Gray, adding, "The way you motivate people is by understanding what they want and giving them that. It sounds so simple, but many employers don't do it. For example, one of the biggest motivators for an extrovert is receiving praise in front of other people. As supervisors we go out of our way to praise those people in public. On the other hand, introverts don't want to be held in the limelight, so we praise them one to one. The point is, if you give those people what they want, they're going to be happy. When people have a job they like they're hard to pick off, even if somebody is willing to pay more."

To ensure the right person for the job is hired, Charles E. Smith measures what behavior traits the job requires and then, using the Activity Vector Analysis (AVA) created by Walter V. Clarke Associates Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, conducts a behavior assessment as part of the interview process. The AVA is a list of 91 adjectives that an individual selects to first convey how others have described him or her and then second, selects to convey how he or she describes his or herself. Those selections are then used by an employer to assess and predict the behavioral potential of an individual as well as the behavioral demands of a specific job position. "We use these behavior assessments to understand each person and give them what they want as indicated by their personality," said Gray.

For instance, to be successful in sales a person needs to be friendly, outgoing, and assertive. "If you're hiring a sales person," said Gray, "I would tell you that behavioral fit is four-times more important than job skills. I can teach someone how to sell. I can't teach someone how to be friendly and assertive."

Although Charles E. Smith offers competitive benefits, including stock options, Gray insists that hiring the right person for the job makes for a loyal employee.

"People do best what comes naturally to them. Sounds easy," he said, "but in the real world it doesn't happen often."

Branding Helps Recruiting

Increasing visibility through branding attracts job hunters to Equity Office Properties Trust where the 1,700 employee-strong firm enjoys a low employee turnover rate of approximately 13 percent, far below the industry standard of 20 percent, according to the firm. Its Total Rewards Program helps to seal the deal, said Mike Steele, COO of the Chicago, IL firm. "As we have built-up our presence in major markets across the country, we created higher visibility of our company which has allowed us to attract people who may not have thought of pursuing a career at Equity Office," he said. "Because of that effort, there is a stronger tendency on the part of people interested in growing careers within the real estate industry to keep close track of our growth patterns and attempt to align their careers with us."

Under the new Total Rewards Program, a prospective employee is given a complete review of the benefits package he or she will receive at Equity Office. "With unemployment rates where they are it's important that people have a complete understanding of the compensation package that an employer is offering," said Steele.

The Total Rewards Program ensures that employees know their salary, bonus structure, medical benefits, and stock option plans, while also ensuring that supervisors have a greater insight about what's available to them in rewarding their staff members' performance.

Align Employee Interests with Company Goals

Equity Office also implemented its Performance Measurement and Management (PMM) process last year to align its strategies and the role its employees play in achieving success.

"It begins with the basic premise that if everyone understands the strategies and goals of the company and how their individual goals align with those goals, we're going to have a more effective employee," explained Steele. "From there, the next subset is the individual department or workgroup's strategies and goals. The next step is to actually create goals together with individual employees that tie into the company strategy."

The PMM includes four key process steps: Planning—establishing the performance "roadmap" for the year; Doing and Coaching—reviewing progress and providing feedback; Assessing—evaluating goal completion; and Rewarding—recognizing contributions and performance.

"It really gives the employee a tool they can use, and it's far different than the traditional employee review form. I think [these programs] help us retain employees for two reasons. One, I think that any time a person sees how they fit within the organization and how their goals add to the success of the company, we have a more highly motivated person and a more satisfied person, and two, is rewarding the person."

Equity Office policy also includes working with employees to help them reach their long-term goals. "If someone has a specific interest in an area, as part of the PMM process, we are going to provide them with training relevant to their personal development goal," said Steele. If someone working in a leasing position wants to acquire the skills to develop electronic commerce initiatives to improve his or her role, Equity Office would encourage and reimburse employees for that training.

"You want to allow people to talk about those opportunities and give them the vehicle to be successful, instead of saying you're in leasing and you can't do that. We don't want to close doors on anybody," said Steele.

Stay Current and Flexible

Alternatively, real estate companies may find it difficult to recruit talent if they lack the latest in investment, building management systems, telecommunications, and other service technologies. "It may help you attract individuals depending on what your technological competency is or it may be a turn-off," explained Paul Lewis, managing director, Specialty Consultants Inc. Pittsburgh, PA. If a company is courting a candidate who works at an up-to-date company, he or she may be turned-off by the offering company's deficient technologies. "It could hurt your recruiting efforts. It may affect the company's ability to grow. If your growth is limited, it's going to limit your ability to recruit fresh new talent," he said.

Technology aside, AmREIT has found a unique way to meet its staffing requirements—part-time moms. By focusing on professional women who left the workforce to raise families and now want to return to work part-time, the REIT is filling positions with top talent. "It's our answer to a tight market," said H. Kerr Taylor, CEO of the Houston, TX REIT.

"One of the greatest resources we have is these wonderfully educated women who have taken time out of their lives to raise children. I find, quite frankly, they often perform and produce as much or more than people who work full-time."

With their children now in school, these mothers are returning to work to pick-up their career on a part-time basis, or "mother's hours" as its known at AmREIT. Work begins at 8:30 a.m. and typically ends at 2 p.m. when it's time to pick-up the kids.

"We give them a task and it takes 30 minutes to complete when we thought it would take a day," said Taylor. "I think the whole country is going to change their vision [on hiring mothers part-time.] To capture world class talent, you have to be absolutely flexible and you've got to court and capture that talent. It takes a lot more time than I would think it would. Since we're growing in a tight market it takes a lot of work. The surprise has been on the female side. Some of my best producers have always been women, but at some point they'd leave to raise a family or follow their husband to a new job location. But, this is a new formula to bring women in. We've just started realizing that hiring mothers part-time should be more of a focus."

Mothers working part-time aren't the only ones to find a home at AMREIT. The firm also extended this flexibility to male employees and has one father on the part-time schedule.

For real estate companies with construction divisions, holding onto service personnel is a tough task. Creating a family friendly atmosphere is how CAPREIT Inc. in Rockville, MD is retaining their employees.

"The family atmosphere we created has been our strongest point," said Joanne Waters, human resources manager. Offering healthcare, flexible hours, and educational assistance, and raising salary increases encourages employee loyalty, said Waters.

"Our goal at CAPREIT is to offer employees a career change and to bring them into the whole of the industry, instead of treating them like just another worker on a job site."

And, like other companies who are searching for long-term employees, CAPREIT looks for people who display commitment, loyalty, and dedication. Adds Waters, "We can teach them specific skills."

Valuing Human Resources

With many industry analysts putting renewed emphasis on the critical importance of a company's management talent and skills, holding onto gifted, dedicated employees and attracting new, valuable employees is more important than ever. Today, real estate companies need to realize that their employees are often their greatest assets even above their brick-and-mortar and capital resources. The companies that put this kind of emphasis on human resources are likely to find significant advantages in reaching their corporate goals.

Deidra Darsa, formerly managing editor of Portfolio, is a freelance writer from Aspen Hill, MD.

Skills for the Future
Computer literacy, leadership, and analytical skills top the most desired list for multi-talented new hires in the real estate industry, according to insiders.

"A much more sophisticated person is sought out today than before. The demand for experience is greater today than it's ever been," said Martin D. Nass, senior partner, national real estate practice leader, TMP Worldwide, New York, NY.

"Clients are looking for people who have the intellectual capacity to be more. They want someone who can think strategically and use technology as a tool to get the kind of answers necessary to evaluate property assets and to make strategic business decisions."

In addition to using computer spreadsheets for property portfolio, AMREIT staffers are using the Internet more frequently to access information, according to Donald Grieb, director of acquisitions at the Houston, TX firm.

"It's really helpful to have someone who knows a little bit about surfing the net and who can think on their feet in terms of accessing information. Another area we're using quite a bit is the intra-company e-mail. It's easier to type an e-mail, broadcast it, and get a consensus back from the staff than it is to call somebody. So, we want someone who will feel comfortable with that and knows how to send e-mail. We're also finding more and more that we're sending document files to outside business associates and that saves on couriers and copy costs."

The popularity of laptop computers in the field is increasing, according to Paul Lewis, managing director, Specialty Consultants Inc., Pittsburgh, PA. "It's becoming a mandatory tool and if a candidate, regardless of experience, is not technologically competent they're going to be at a significant disadvantage," he said.

Besides computer literacy, real estate companies are looking for individuals with leadership ability.

"What most of our clients mean by leadership is an individual who is willing to do the job as well as manage. They want a head of leasing who is willing to do a cold call with a staff member. Someone who will say, 'Come on. I'm leading the way. I'll show you how to conquer that mountain. I'll do it with you.'"

—D.D.

Who's Number One?

"Employees first" seems to be the mantra at the best managed public companies today, replacing the traditional "customer first" principal. The theory is that if employees are happy, customers will be well taken care of, and corporate goals achieved. As employers know, satisfied, committed, and productive employees are difficult to find and expensive to replace. To this end, organizations of all sizes have adopted innovative retention practices.

Unquestionably, recruitment and retention are the key ingredients for a viable company. Research among the best managed public companies indicates that they consistently offer high quality options such as potential for advancement, a solid company reputation, stock options, attractive benefits packages, a positive corporate culture, learning opportunities, and a competitive salary scale. A recent survey among the best-managed companies reveals how the specific organizations have improved employee retention:

• 67% increased employee communication;
• 55% offered additional career development;
• 44% expanded employee recognition programs;
• 24% offered additional compensation plans;
• 21% provided executive coaching;
• 21% introduced flexible staffing options;
• 6% changed promotional criteria.

—William J. Ferguson, co-chairman, FLP Associates, an executive compensation, strategic planning and managerial consulting firm.

Technology's Impact on Recruitment and Retention

Today's breakthrough technologies—the Internet, wireless communications, palmtop computers, and other yet-to-be-revealed marvels—will look equally revolutionary with 20/20 hindsight in 2020, or even sooner. Inevitably, a workplace revolution will occur simultaneously:

• Say goodbye to nine-to-five. The explosion of cheap, fast telecommunications, including wireless smart phones and PCs will let us work from anywhere and at any time. The biggest challenge will be managing the digital divides between work and family life.
• Highly skilled employees will find themselves in the driver's seat. As the growth of the labor markets slows dramatically when the baby boom generation begins to retire, the best employees will be wooed furiously, not just with money but with benefits designed to improve their quality of life.
• The prototypical white male workforce is in retreat. The new face of the workforce includes not only women and African Americans but large numbers of Hispanics and Asians, as well as older Americans.
• From the early pioneers to today's .com billionaires, Americans have celebrated the culture of rugged individualism. But in the web driven information age, teamwork will become highly valued. At all levels, good communication and negotiation skills will be critical to success.
• Neither the workday nor the workweek will begin or end at fixed times. As more people have control over their work schedule, they may decide to take Tuesdays and Thursdays off to avoid lines on the golf course, but work Saturdays and Sundays instead. Working is becoming increasingly untethered from time and place.
• The workplace will not be defined by a street address but by a web of coworkers (some within companies, others free agents) connected to computers. We will see the rise of the virtual organization—loose federations of individuals with complementary skills who team together.