Recruitment reshuffle

‘Eurobuild CEE’: Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, it’s been hard to ignore its effect on various aspects of our lives and business, including employee recruitment. How has Covid-19 impacted the real estate labour market?

Marta Kulik, the HR business partner at Cresa: The outbreak of the pandemic induced great uncertainty, both among employers and employees. Companies had no idea what lay in store in the weeks ahead. Many took action aimed at getting through their most challenging time yet. They had various strategies: cutting overheads, optimising the headcount and operations, and taking a wait-and-see approach. Some recruitment processes were put on hold while others continued, but the percentage of completed processes fell significantly. Also, employers focused on the bottom line and performance to achieve their profitability targets.

How, on the other hand, did talent react to pandemic? Have such professionals been less willing to look for new job opportunities?

Employees found themselves torn between maintaining a sense of stability and job security and the desire to change jobs whilst watching how other companies were behaving. Due to all the uncertainty, employees were initially less willing to look elsewhere. But as the months went by, companies that have emerged from the lockdown relatively unscathed, with adequately managed cash flows while maintaining their business continuity, have been well-positioned to attract new talent. Some people are naturally still sitting on the side-lines waiting to see how the situation will unfold, but they have nevertheless become more willing to take part in preliminary interviews and discussions with potential new employers.

Is the industrial sector any different in this respect?

The situation on the warehouse and industrial market has been closely connected to the performance of a specific segment. E-commerce and courier services reported strong growth, whereas automotive and companies providing products at the bottom of the list of consumers’ needs haven’t done so well. The warehouse market, however, has gained the most from the current situation. The sector saw growing warehouse requirements in this part of Europe, leading to increased investor focus on this area. The popularity of just-in-time deliveries has meant more warehouses are being built closer to city centres. The Polish warehouse and industrial market also stands to benefit from international corporations diversifying their supply chains and bringing manufacturing closer to their target consumer markets. This has a major impact on the search for and development of teams in the warehouse sector. The demand for employees in such fields as operations, sales and finance is growing in response to the current needs of companies.

How will the situation unfold if the pandemic eases off or becomes worse?

All business and HR leaders are looking for answers to this question. It’s hard to say unequivocally how it will unfold and where it will take us. We all live in hope that we will be quickly back to normal when a vaccine is finally developed. The early weeks of the next year should be more buoyant. We are still seeing a cautious approach to hiring people, but full-scale home office does not support the building of interpersonal relationships or launching new projects – for some companies it has proven to be less successful in the long term. Job creation is expected to pick up, not only in Warsaw, but throughout Poland, as companies look to grow and new players enter the market, particularly in the industrial and warehouse sector. The pandemic has prompted a market reshuffle, but there are people who are looking for growth opportunities, have experience and contacts, and yet face a glass ceiling in their organisations. They are open to new proposals.

Covid-19 aside, what are the long term trends on the recruitment market?

The Polish real estate market remains very interesting to investors. Highly skilled experts in investment, financing and sales are all needed. In the long term; the market will need professionals to drive efficiency, optimisation, process management, property management and asset management. We are also seeing a trend for HR roles being integrated into real estate companies. It is crucial for us to look for partners we can talk to about strategy and where, how and with whom we could drive our business growth going forward.

What role is HR playing in this dynamic real estate sector?

The Polish real estate market is continuing its exponential growth. Some companies have grown from a few people or a dozen-strong team to organisations with tens or even hundreds of employees. As a result, there’s an increased focus on such factors as employee engagement, managerial skills, employee evaluation, talent management with the aim of top talent acquisition and retention, as well as reviews of salaries and fringe benefits. An HR professional needs to act in line with the company’s strategy and to put forward new solutions. Such a person has to keep a close eye on the internal and external environment and be business-minded. HR skills are gaining in importance in the real estate sector, which is known for its speed, efficiency and high work quality.

How could HR professionals best help a company in these challenging times?

Now is a busy time for HR departments in that they are needed to bridge the gap between directors, who have a strategy and vision and expect results, and the people who make up the organisation and are responsible for delivering results. Additionally, the role of HR professionals is also now – and more than ever before – to identify psychological problems associated with the pandemic and fears of redundancy or falling ill. They need to prepare for all the various scenarios and devise new and improved safety procedures. It’s important at the moment to provide support and to be open to discussion about solutions that have not been so widely used so far, such as flexibility in returning to the office.

What are the key drivers of employee motivation and engagement?

This is a very general question. The real estate market is largely result-driven, but motivation is a very individual thing. We can’t say that remuneration is the one single driver in this sector. Some are motivated by a brand, superiors to learn from, or career development opportunities. For others there’s an opportunity to expand or build something from scratch. The role of HR is to identify such factors and adapt activities for people across a whole spectrum to maintain their strong commitment. With this in place, the company can move forward from point A to point B, which is what managers and investors are after, as are employees. The most important thing in all this is to move forward together in the same direction.

Which way is Cresa moving in all this? What are your key competences in this area?

At Cresa we promote flexibility, rapid execution and tapping into the potential of the market. With its highly efficient decision-making process, the company is better-positioned to build up its competitive advantage, which is appreciated by the employees. In response to the dynamic growth of the organisation, it’s important that HR procedures are clear to both managers and employees. Our common objective is to build a place where all the teams collaborate and share their market expertise. We value an entrepreneurial approach and in return we provide operational space and trust, which has a positive effect on employee engagement. The experience and market acumen are other key factors for us. We are selective and look for top-tier professionals who are uncompromising and would like to join us in delivering top quality tenant representation services.