Don’t let the Cost-of-Living Crisis Cost you your Staff

Recent research by the tmgroup suggests that the wellbeing of professionals across the property industry has taken a significant downturn, amidst the challenges of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the economic downturn facing the country.

Their ‘Back to the Future’ report suggested that over a third of such professionals were looking to quit the sector in the next five years, and the reasons seem obvious – an increasingly pressured work environment, in which the industry is failing to do enough to protect the wellbeing of its workers.

Hybrid working solutions, which emerged as viable solutions in the post-covid climate, have not been properly harnessed in order to maximise that holiest of grails – the work/life balance. Only a quarter of the respondents to the survey informing the study reported benefiting from home working and/or flexible working hours, lower than the previous year.

Other wellbeing measures, such as social events and increased holidays, were rising but still not enough, a quarter of respondents saying they did not benefit from any such wellbeing measures at all.

Combined with a significant decrease in well-being calls to staff from employers, against a backdrop of rising caseloads and longer transactions, it seems clear that the industry could and should be doing more. If they don’t, they could face ever-decreasing workforces handling ever-larger caseloads, and the downward trend of staff well-being seems inevitable in that scenario

tmgroup’s HR Director, Dan Creed said ‘…organisations are replacing human intervention with e-cards or self-help initiatives, and I am noticing a decline in overall staff wellbeing at these companies.’

Compass CEO Ryan Hannah said ‘In light of this report and the evidence facing us about the increased stress on firms across the property sector, our central mission of reducing pressure and stress on fee-earners and their staff seems more important than ever. Our award-nominated, unique system not only simplifies the process of determining the property tax on a purchase, but provides a detailed, CQS compliant audit trail for each transaction too.

Add in the reassurance of de-risking the calculation and outsourcing responsibility to an expert third party, and Compass provides a solution which helps safeguard both your staff’s wellbeing as well your firm’s reputation.

By eliminating the possibility of errors, complaints and even claims against you from clients impacted by mistakes, Compass helps provide maximum peace of mind for your staff.’

Experienced staff are your firm’s most precious resource, at a time when the market is only becoming more challenging. Can you really afford not taking every opportunity to safeguard their wellbeing?