Staff turnover in property industry hits 30% as agents demand better pay
Three out of 10 estate agents are quitting their jobs in search of extra cash as the cost of living bites and salaries remain stagnant leaving agents poorer now than they have been in a long time.
Three out of 10 estate agents are quitting their jobs in search of extra cash, research from Nested reveals.
With the cost of living in the UK on the rise and salaries remaining largely stagnant many agents are, in real terms, poorer now than they have been in a long time.
Estate agent Nested measured the industry’s turnover rate in comparison to 20 other major industries, and commissioned a survey of UK property professionals to understand what exactly is making them leave one job in search of another.
TURNOVER
According to the latest government data, the average annual staff turnover rate – in which an employee leaves one company to work for another – across the 21 UK industries studied is 29.3%.
The highest turnover rate is seen in the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector where it stands at 35.6%.
In Real Estate, turnover is 27.8%, placing it bang in the middle of the pack.
This means Real Estate has a smaller staff turnover rate than the likes of Health & Social Work (29.7%), Construction (29.5%), and Education (29.2%), but higher than sectors such as Manufacturing (27.4%), Financial & Insurance Activities (26.9%), Mining & Quarrying (26.6%), and Public Admin & Defence (24.2%).
In real estate turnover is being driven by the employees themselves rather than employers. Eight out of 10 (81%) respondents said that they believed turnover is being driven by employees jumping ship, while just one in five (19%) stated it was down to employers laying off staff.
SALARIES
As for why staff are leaving, the most common reason is the search for higher salaries, as stated by 36% of industry respondents; followed by looking for a better role (16%), stress of workload (16%), and the search for a more flexible work/life balance (11%).
Alice Bullard, Managing Director at Nested, says: “It’s clear from these results that estate agents want and need better pay. Staff turnover is not about market feast and famine, nor is it about redundancies.
“Instead, it’s about earning potential, flexibility, lifestyle, and the sense that they’re being trusted to do the job well.”
