Propertymark slammed for handling of latest leadership resignation
Trade association sends terse email to members about Kirsty Finney's departure and takes down links to articles about her.
Propertymark has come in for criticism from its agent members for its poor handling of President Kirsty Finney’s unexpected departure over the weekend.
She is reported to have left the trade association and her estate agency for family reasons.
Belfast-based Finney became its president after Propertymark suspended its elections process during Covid. She succeeded Lauren Scott, saying she wanted to give Northern Ireland a greater voice within the UK’s legislative changes.
On Saturday an email was sent out to Propertymark members about her departure, some of whom have criticised the unusually short and blunt announcement about her departure. Unusually, links to articles about her on the Propertymark website have been taken down.
This follows an increasingly predictable pattern within the organisation in recent months which has seen CEO Mark Hayward leave and then return with a new title of Chief Policy Advisor, the abrupt departure of its Chairman Christopher Hamer in September and the mysterious exit of David Cox in July, who then joined Rightmove.
“Given that Kirsty Finney was only in post six-months, maybe someone should take a closer look at what is happening on the inside of this organisation which alleges it is the guardian of the estate agency sector in the UK, as it certainly is not a role model of stability with regard to who is running it,” says Proptech and industry figure Andrew Stanton.
Consultant Michael Day, has also been critical of Finney’s departure: “Members have supposedly been sent a somewhat blunt and disingenuous email. I’m a member but haven’t received it. Whatever the circumstances this has been handled poorly.”
Records at Companies House show Finney resigned from her directorship of the company she co-founded in 2017 on February 1st.
Sorry – but what’s the point of NAEA membership? Unlike the Propertymark’s US counterpart, the NAR, the organisation seems to have become pretty toothless anyway, irrespective of its management confusion. Of hundreds of agencies for whom I have provided marketing copy based on the agency’s specific attributes, not one has ever asked me to promote their membership of the NAEA.
When I was an estate agent myself, the only reason I joined was to get the sticker for the window as some sort of “ABTA” style flag of implicit trustworthiness. But that doesn’t work anymore, especially as Propertymark appears to have no interest in promoting the advantages (?) to the public of using a member agent. On-line reviews have replaced this function – and they’re more reliable too as an indicator of user-experience. In fact, for a mediocre agency, NAEA membership is easier to acquire than good reviews so it could even be counter-productive!
It would seem to me that The Guild of Property Professionals has replaced the NAEA in most aspects. It’s innovations and member support are outstanding and much more akin to a professional association than to the commercial operation it is. If it were me, I know who’s sticker I’d want on my website! Just saying!