REJS Featured Candidate for South Island NZ

Candidate:              Heather 

Location:                 Timaru to Oamaru South Island

Position:                  Residential  Sales / Rural Sales

Salary:                       Retainer or negotiable commission

A little about the candidate: 

You’ve probably read this before: we’re in the middle of a talent shortage. To challenge employers even more, the very real issue of talent retention is also getting its share of discussion, and with good reason; not only are skilled talent hard to find, they’re getting harder and harder to keep.

But while these issues are simmering away, I do believe that employee loyalty isn’t dead. People still want to remain loyal to their employers; they just need the right environment in which to do it in.

Plenty of businesses have their own way of encouraging staff motivation. Google is known for its Innovation Time Off policy, where engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their time at work on projects that interest them. While this kind of initiative has proven to be winning, birthing Google News and Gmail and other successful products, it’s obviously a costly exercise that not every company can sustain financially.

So what can you do?

Every candidate I meet gets asked a variation of the question ‘why are you looking for a new job?’ I’ve taken stock of the responses and have put together the most common reasons, in no particular order:

1. Salary: But it’s not what you think. You don’t necessarily need to be paying all your staff the top-banded salaries, but they’re telling me loud and clear that they do want to know that what they are being paid isfair.  Benchmark salaries –   know what your competitors are offering and be open and honest with your staff. Remember, it has much less to do with the bottom dollar and almost everything to do with an overall feeling of value.

2. Performance Reviews: Do them, and do them when they’re due. Many, many candidates I’ve met with have cited late or sometimes non-existent performance reviews as a contributing factor to their decision to change jobs. Don’t avoid the discussion, no matter how unpleasant it might be. People need to know if they’re performing to their employers’ standards, and they also need the open opportunity to discuss anything they might need addressed.

3. Quality of Work/Projects/Brands: This is especially true for designers (the talent I work with), but I imagine it’s relevant to many roles in advertising and marketing and beyond. Wherever possible, allow all staff some access to the bigger/better/higher-profile projects. Yes, even juniors. It can grow confidence, motivation and loyalty. And as I’ve said before, some of the best ideas come from where you might least expect!

4. Reward Great Work: How worthwhile would you feel if you were always being overlooked? Acknowledge people who have done a great job, stood out from the crowd, stayed back late to finish a project or come up with a great idea. It doesn’t have to be a financial reward – it’s probably more than enough to simply mention them at Friday drinks. (And another point: HAVE Friday drinks!).

5. Flexibility: Remember that people have (sometimes complex, often busy) lives outside of work. Parents’ days can be tough: there are school drop offs and pick ups, the kids get sick, it’s Dad’s Day at Kinder or you just miss your kids (I’m guilty of this one). People study, care for an elderly parent, and do a raft of things that sometimes don’t fall conveniently into the ‘after hours’ time frame. Where possible, allow some flexibility around this.

While there are many other things a employer can do to try and encourage happy and motivated staff (some I’ve heard of: access to an in-house chef, weekly massages, breakfast provided every morning, a myriad of social activities, office ‘comfort zones’ and games rooms, ski trips, free iPads/Pods/Phones, etc.), it’s interesting to me that, consistently, it’s the simpler things that continue to rate a mention.

REJS  thanks Cynthia Kotsiakos- Firebrand – Melbourne for the article

 “I tell you what; I cannot wait to get out of here! My boss has now turned very evil and is giving me a really hard time.”

Unfortunately this is a comment we hear much more often than we’d like to from staff members who have given their notice and are battling through the final days of their job.

Now, of course there are instances where companies and their employees’ part on less-than-ideal terms, but letting workers leave your company in a disgruntled mood can have huge consequences, and is something you should be at pains to avoid, if at all possible.

First and foremost of course is sensitive information, and the intellectual property that any departing staff member takes with them. It’s almost impossible to police what former employees will discuss, and what sensitive information they will divulge about your organisation, but an individual who leaves on amicable terms, with a good feeling about you as a boss, is far less likely to go out of their way to ‘spill the beans’ on the inner-workings of your company.

Just as potentially detrimental to your business is the damage a cynical person can do to the reputation of your company. Not only will prospective customers be less likely to approach you if they have heard you treat your staff poorly, but your chances of attracting top-quality employees in the future will diminish greatly if you gain a reputation for being over-bearing, holding grudges or acting in a petty fashion. It doesn’t take long for rumours to spread – a drink at a pub and someone who knows someone who used to work for such-and-such comes up in the conversation – and the next thing you know you’re the talk of the town.

Consider the productivity of the outgoing staff member in the final days / weeks of their employment with you. If you react poorly when receiving their resignation, it is likely their efforts will decrease as they see out their last few days with you. If you’re going to be paying them to be there for another fortnight, you may as well get your ‘moneys-worth’ out of them, which will only happen if they value you as an employee, are proud to work for your company, and want to leave on good terms.

Also think about the training of any new staff members who may be coming in as the old employee leaves. You may well want to utilise the experience and know-how of the existing staff member in the training of your new team member, but what sort of advice and training will they provide if they are bitter and twisted about the way they’ve been treated over the last few weeks?

In short, it’s not always possible for all job appointments to come to a smooth conclusion, but it’s important to keep in mind that you’re the one with the most to loose from a volatile parting of ways. Sure, you may be upset about the way things have turned out, but if you can try to see the bigger picture, continue to act professionally, and if necessary be the bigger person you will greatly mitigate the risk of the outgoing employee doing harm to your business – damage which could fester for a long time after they’ve left and moved on.

Having recognised that standard Internet Job Boards, with their generic service, high prices, and inconsistent results were insufficient for the Real Estate industries’ needs, www.realestate-careers.co.nz
and

www.realestate-careers.com.au  was launched.

Because the site focuses solely on employment opportunities within the Real Estate industry, for New Zealand and Australia,  interest from candidates has been huge, with the site already attracting in excess of 130,000 hits per month.

And because the prices are competitive, the site easy to use, and the results tangible and measurable, business owners and managers have been quick to jump on board.

Developed by individuals with significant experience recruiting property professionals, using the latest technology and designed specifically to meet the unique requirements of the Real Estate industry, www.realestate-careers.co.nz  has revolutionised the way companies’ source their Real Estate stars for NZ and Australia.

Utilising every avenue possible to promote their site, including various Social Media platforms, the team at Real Estate Careers is committed to the continued development of a site that makes it easy to connect with potential staff and find fantastic career opportunities.

To find out more about the great rates that are currently on offer for unlimited job postings  talk to one of the team about the site phone +61 414 624 521 or +61 45 81472 or go directly to the site and purchase your first job advert pack.

Real Estate Careers Team 

Real Estate and Social Media Marketing- Is it time for you to raise the bar?

It would be safe to assume that a vast majority of Real Estate professionals are aware that the world of marketing is changing at a rapid rate, and whilst talk of ‘social media’ has been prominent, for many, any real and active involvement is yet to be considered as truly essential.

This stagnation for progression is much a result of many professionals having no concept of where to start- but like the take-over that was emails from post and realestate.com from agency window displays, so too, social media is changing the way real estate agents will conduct daily business as consumers evolve with improving search technologies.

With the meteoric rise of information tools available online, buyers and sellers are more educated than ever. Over 85% of real estate transactions start online, whether your prospective clients are doing searches on Google, conversing with friends on Facebook or actively making shortlists on realestate.com or domain- people looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate gather as much information as possible before making one of the largest financial transactions of their lifetime.

Moreover, when choosing a real estate agent to work with, buyers and sellers are no longer merely seeking a recognisable face or agency name, they want to verify that a real estate agent is honest, trustworthy and reputable. This combined with the realisation that people are becoming more socially active online then offline means that social media can present a host of opportunities for you as an agent to get closer than ever to existing and potential clients by engaging listening and sharing advice about what matters to them, enabling you to position yourself as an authoritative information source in your area and improve your overall internet search presence all at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

Managing one’s online reputation will very soon become a large part of the game. If you are not currently using social media, and by that I do not mean simply having ownership of a Facebook page, Twitter account or LinkedIn Profile, but rather are actively and strategically using it then you need to start to seriously consider adding it to your marketing mix as a fundamental focus.

Social media is the way of the future, so is it time that you raise the bar in real estate and get a step ahead of the competition?

To find out more about creating or improving your social media platforms and developing an effective marketing strategy contact Jennie at Socially United for a free one on one consultation on jennifer@sociallyunited.com.

Property Manager – Mackay – North Queensland $40 – $45K

There’s nothing we enjoy more than touching base with a Property Manager that we’ve just placed in a new role, and hearing that everything is going perfectly – their portfolio is great, the transition was smooth, and they’re up to speed on all they need to know and understand.

Unfortunately this happens all to infrequently. Property Management is an industry that deals in vast amounts of data and information, and with all manner of individuals, including both clients who need very little attention, and clients who require a lot! As a consequence, handing a portfolio to a new staff member can be tricky and full of pitfalls.

While an office manager can comfortably teach new team members about company protocols and best practices, the ideal person to get a new Property Manager up to speed is the person they’re taking the portfolio over from.

By developing a system for handing over portfolios and helping with the transition of new staff members in to your work environment you’ll save time and cut down on teething problems traditionally associated with taking on new responsibilities.

There are two sides to handing over a property portfolio to a new manager – the formal, and the personal. The formal side of things is obvious, and revolves around ensuring the out-going staff member has all documentation and contracts in place, that any relevant information, such as outstanding rent arrears or pending maintenance are clearly documented, and that all contact details for both owners and tenants are, to the best of their knowledge, up to date and current.

The personal side of things is something many companies neglect. Property Management is a profession which revolves around relationships, and a Property Manager will inevitably build up a certain amount of knowledge on each individual client they deal with – what they expect from their Property Manager, their likes and dislikes, and their personalities in general.

Encourage out-going staff members to make notes on their clients. If their portfolio is too large to go over everyone, prioritize the most significant clients. This should be done in a relatively informal manner, as you’re looking for a genuine insight in to the clients – things like Mr Smith prefers to be contacted in the afternoons, Mrs Williams loves to hear updates on how the garden is being maintained, etc.

By doing this you’ll be giving the new team member a head start, and hopefully helping them avoid making any mistakes that the original Property Manager made when developing relationships with specific clients.

It’s important to communicate with your clients, and let them know that a change in personnel is taking place. You’ll find that the vast majority of your clients will be completely understanding and patient, and will volunteer important information to their new Property Manager.

Take the other road though, by trying to conceal the fact that a new Property Manager is on board, and you run the risk of clients mistaking any teething problems a new employee may have for your company having suddenly become incompetent overnight!

In essence, a successful hand-over boils down to communication – between the out-going and in-coming employees, and between your company and your clients. Take some time to get this right and any transitions you have to make will be a breeze!

 Nikki Taylor

Real Estate Jobs Search

Job Title: Property Manager’s – Blackwater – North Queensland

The Real Estate Recruitment leader, Real Estate Jobs Search continue to match the best people with the best positions. We help candidates and employers find what they looking for.

A little about Blackwater:  Blackwater (and Blackdown Tablelands) A modern mining town servicing the nearby open cut coal mines.  Blackwater is 836 km from Brisbane and 190 km from Rockhampton, west on the Capricorn Highway. The town got its name from the colouring of the local water supply by ti-trees which are common in the area.

The Role: Property Manager’s –Blackwater  – North Queensland

You will be highly motivated and an organised Property Manager.   Well communicated and an outgoing personality a must.   A current real estate  registration certificate is required as well as sound knowledge of basic property management tasks.  The portfolio is approx. 120 and you will have an understanding of Console.

A little about our Client:  Well here is the opportunity to learn from a motivated enthusiastic  principal.   If you are looking for a lifestyle change but still want to keep a professional career then you need to talk to us about this role at Blackwater who is looking for someone with passion for Property Management . A great team to work with and a great office to be part of.

What is on offer: A starting salary of $45k to $50 k  a mobile phone is supplied as well as vehicle for work use.

Apply:  For more information on this role, please contact the REJS team by phone or  forward your resume in a Word document to:

Nikki Taylor Email: nikki@rejs.com.au  or 0414 624 521

REJS Headquarters: 1300 219 522

Skype: Rejs2011

Website:  www.realestatejobssearch.com

Real Estate Jobs Search

“Recruitment Specialists for the  Real Estate Industry”

There’s nothing we enjoy more than touching base with a Property Manager that we’ve just placed in a new role, and hearing that everything is going perfectly – their portfolio is great, the transition was smooth, and they’re up to speed on all they need to know and understand.

Unfortunately this happens all to infrequently. Property Management is an industry that deals in vast amounts of data and information, and with all manner of individuals, including both clients who need very little attention, and clients who require a lot! As a consequence, handing a portfolio to a new staff member can be tricky and full of pitfalls.

While an office manager can comfortably teach new team members about company protocols and best practices, the ideal person to get a new Property Manager up to speed is the person they’re taking the portfolio over from.

By developing a system for handing over portfolios and helping with the transition of new staff members in to your work environment you’ll save time and cut down on teething problems traditionally associated with taking on new responsibilities.

There are two sides to handing over a property portfolio to a new manager – the formal, and the personal. The formal side of things is obvious, and revolves around ensuring the out-going staff member has all documentation and contracts in place, that any relevant information, such as outstanding rent arrears or pending maintenance are clearly documented, and that all contact details for both owners and tenants are, to the best of their knowledge, up to date and current.

The personal side of things is something many companies neglect. Property Management is a profession which revolves around relationships, and a Property Manager will inevitably build up a certain amount of knowledge on each individual client they deal with – what they expect from their Property Manager, their likes and dislikes, and their personalities in general.

Encourage out-going staff members to make notes on their clients. If their portfolio is too large to go over everyone, prioritize the most significant clients. This should be done in a relatively informal manner, as you’re looking for a genuine insight in to the clients – things like Mr Smith prefers to be contacted in the afternoons, Mrs Williams loves to hear updates on how the garden is being maintained, etc.

By doing this you’ll be giving the new team member a head start, and hopefully helping them avoid making any mistakes that the original Property Manager made when developing relationships with specific clients.

It’s important to communicate with your clients, and let them know that a change in personnel is taking place. You’ll find that the vast majority of your clients will be completely understanding and patient, and will volunteer important information to their new Property Manager.

Take the other road though, by trying to conceal the fact that a new Property Manager is on board, and you run the risk of clients mistaking any teething problems a new employee may have for your company having suddenly become incompetent overnight!

In essence, a successful hand-over boils down to communication – between the out-going and in-coming employees, and between your company and your clients. Take some time to get this right and any transitions you have to make will be a breeze!

Best of luck

Nikki Taylor

If you’re thinking about changing jobs, it’s important to understand your reasons why. First ask yourself, why do you want to make the change, think about it honestly and write them down. Pros and Cons to changing.

If you are leaving because you don’t get along well with your co workers or your boss. This is the time to be truthful with yourself. Are your problems with those people because of them or you.   If it really is your co workers or boss, then I suggest if they won’t  change,  so start looking for another job.

Here are some more issues to consider:

Your pay – Do your research. What is the pay scale for your role in your  geographical area and of course the  industry.?

Your commute — If you are the kind of person who seriously doesn’t enjoy the time spent in the car, like me, then a long commute could be a major issue. You should seriously factor this in when deciding how much you like your current job. Too many people these days take up a role, then realise a month later it’s just too far.  Do your homework, work it out.  Give some serious thought to the distance you are travelling and work out really is it worth the travel.

How do you feel when you wake in the morning on a  workday? –  NO really ..how do you feel? Do you wake up with dread? Do you find that you’re having more minor health issues–stomach upset, headaches–than you normally would? Your body can tell you when something is wrong with your lifestyle way before your mind will.

Start your job search while you’re still employed. Knowing that you have a few irons in the fire can help you put up with an unhappy situation.

Talk to someone !   There are people out there you can talk to.  Find out what is out there in your area.  Be specific to what you want.  It may just change your situation and we do like to hear how much people like to get up every day to go to work.  Those jobs really are out there.  Trust me!

Nikki Taylor

Real Estate Jobs Search