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Two thirds of estate agents looking for new role after Coronavirus crisis

Poll of agents finds that pandemic has been a game changer after many staff have realised they can do their jobs, or large parts of their daily activities, from home.

Nigel Lewis

estate agents

Two thirds of estate agents in the UK are considering a change of role following the Coronavirus pandemic with many considering new roles which let them work from home or offer self-employment.

This is the key takeaway of the most recent poll by recruitment agent Rayner Personnel, which has also looked at job satisfaction rates among agents working in corporate, independent and online agencies.

Employers are certainly worried about staff motivation following the crisis. Spicerhaart CEO Paul Smith sent a video to his staff on Monday, attempting to gee them up.

“Life will not be like it was before COVID 19,” he said. “You will have to take the knocks along the way, but if you embrace the change and drive yourself, with the Spicerhaart family behind you, I can assure you that you will not fail.”

The Rayner Personnel research also reveals that those most unsettled by the crisis are valuers who are worried about job security, most likely due to the increased use of technology to do their roles during the lockdown.

“What’s fascinating is the difference in sentiment between seniority of role and the type of business that each is employed within,” says CEO Josh Rayner.

“If I were an independent estate agency boss I would certainly take note that the corporates are seemingly set to hold on to their valuers and negotiators more ably than they themselves may do. You have to ask yourself why that might be?”.

The poll received only a few responses from agents working for online estate agencies, but they are the most worried about the future – more than 80% appeared ill at ease in their roles.

Read about the results from last month’s poll of agents by Rayner. 

 

May 20, 2020

One comment

  1. Ah ha ha – “But no, you must have an office – a shop front!”
    It was only a few months ago the picketers lashed out at online agents. Now this – one phrase comes to mind – Turn coats!

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