Track2Realty Exclusive Realty Job Survey-II
At a time when attracting the best talent is as challenging as retaining them, and lack of quality professionals affecting the fortunes of many sectors, including the Indian real estate, it is appalling to note that the developers have yet not learnt the value of professionals.
As a matter of fact, they are just not bothered to professionalise their functioning and emerge as ‘employer brand’. Within the sector today the only discussion in respective management meetings is focused on cost cutting and hiring freezes rather than building an employer brand.
In terms of real estate job being a magnet for the professionals, the pan-India survey by Track2Realty finds that the track record of the sector to attract the young aspirants is pretty poor.
Not even one out of ten, only 8 per cent, find learning opportunities in the sector; 16 per cent find the work environment competitive but for all the wrong reasons; only 18 per cent think the brand reputation of the developer will help their future career growth; only 22 per cent find job security with a real estate job and a majority 36 per cent are with the real estate job for a rewarding career in terms of money alone.
Real estate as a sector does not attract the best of talent is a known reality within the built environment of the business. But what probably is a matter of serious concern for the developers is the fact that the satisfaction index of the professionals is slipping down even further year-on-year.
The percentage of extremely dissatisfied professionals goes up from 31 per cent last year to 37 per cent this fiscal year; somewhat dissatisfied professionals are 26 per cent this year compared to 24 per cent last year; 18 per cent are neutral/not sure; 12 per cent are somewhat satisfied compared to 14 per cent last year and only 7 per cent are extremely satisfied as against 9 per cent last year.
When the going was good for the sector the developers had this moral high ground of being among the best pay masters to attract the talent but the slowdown has exposed them on various parameters of pay parity as well. More than half of the realty professionals, 52 per cent, have been given salary cuts in the last one year; late salary is a reality for 34 per cent real estate employees; and only 14 per cent are reasonably happy with the salary.
The question is to what extent has it affected the morale of the employees? More than seven out of ten, 72 per cent feel demotivated due to salary; 18 per cent feel the slowdown has affected the salary growth & structure across the industries; while 10 per cent are just indifferent due to various reasons.
One grouse that nevertheless affects the morale of the real estate employees across the companies is that there is no defined metrics of performance. Most of them feel performance amounts to just being in the good book of the developer.
“I am as good as my boss thinks; not necessarily on the performance but how good I am to make him feel good. Even the ability to sell the residential units in these tough times are not rewarded if I am not into the good books of the boss,” says Rajesh Vidyarthi, a real estate professional in Gurgaon.
As many as 75 per cent feel there is a huge salary disparity for the same job, 16 per cent think the blame lies with professionals also for shouldering down the fellow colleagues, and only 9 per cent think that salary and company benefits are equivalent to the performance of the employees.
The survey demography belonged predominantly to the employees with urban upbringing and quality education, exposed to the corporate cut-throat competition and a significant number of respondents were exposed to both the real estate as well as one or more other sectors.
Majority of these professionals had joined the sector for better pay packet and did not expect the sector to be very professional; yet the dissatisfaction level indicates the developers failed to provide even the basic professional benchmark that was expected for them to function.
The survey further zeroed down to the psychology of the respondents who maintained that a job is a job and some kind of compromise is inevitable. The study noted that these professionals are mostly expat professionals from rural areas and small towns, hence less job opportunities compared to the professionals with urban upbringing, better education and more job avenues to opt. What it clearly says that realty is also a haven for the professionals who have no other job market for them.
