Unpacking pay packets

For a picture of where salaries in the sector currently are, we need to start with a few numbers. According to EY’s ‘The Covid-19 year through the eyes of Polish businesses’ report, which surveyed 500 companies from different sectors of the economy, 21 pct have had to cut their employees’ salaries. According to the ‘Poles in the Workplace’ survey published by Pracuj.pl, 71 pct of those looking to change their employment are doing so in search of higher pay. Meanwhile, recruitment firm Devire reports that 45 pct of real estate workers received a raise in 2020. Does this mean that it’s still worthwhile working in real estate?

“Compared to other sectors, real estate has been doing relatively well during the coronavirus pandemic,” insists Marta Kulik, the HR business partner at Cresa Polska. Nevertheless, she points out that when it comes to pay levels we have been seeing bigger differences because over the past year with salaries having both risen and fallen, while bonuses – including end of year bonuses – have been paid out. Wiktoria Bożek, the team leader for construction and property at Devire, makes the point that the extensive restrictions imposed on the retail sector have undoubtedly affected the owners of large malls. “In this sector, we have seen significant cost-cutting, especially when it comes to marketing as well as investment projects being put on hold,” she explains. But in terms of the salaries of those currently employed and looking for new recruits, it’s not all bad news. The team leader from Devire points out that smaller formats have risen in popularity, including convenience stores and retail parks, the expansion of which has accelerated during the pandemic. “It’s expansion experts that developers are mostly looking for,” she says. As a result of working from home as well as the switch to hybrid work models, we’ve seen some slowdown in the activity of the office sector. “However, most owners of such buildings have maintained their staffing levels, especially in the field of management, which has taken on a strategic significance,” points out Wiktoria Bożek, who goes on to add: “We’ve seen a marked increase in the demand for qualified property managers with technical skills or experience in recommercialisation or reducing operating costs.”

The money’s in the shed

Facility management has turned out to be an essential support for operations, ensuring not only that tenants can work safely in their offices, but also that they have the right installations, that the space is regularly disinfected and that common areas are cleaned. Unsurprisingly, the best wages at the moment are to be found in the warehouse sector. “As the most stable real estate market sector, it offers the most attractive pay packages. Developers are most often looking for development specialists and people responsible for acquiring new plots as well as leasing and property managers,” reveals Wiktoria Bożek of Devire. Łukasz Silski, a senior consultant for construction and property at the same firm, believes that the fit-out sector has done worse during the pandemic. He claims that prior to it, a cost-estimator could expect a basic salary of PLN 7,000–9,000 net depending on experience, while a project manager could make PLN 10,000–15,000 and those responsible for developing the business could earn even as much as PLN 10,000–18,000. “The pandemic has quite definitely slowed down the pace of the work. A large number in the sector have decided to act pre-emptively by putting off their recruitment plans. Smaller companies that employ only a few workers have unfortunately had to suspend their operations and even today in some cases they haven’t started back up again,” admits Łukasz Silski. Nonetheless, looking at the last few weeks of this year, a positive trend can be seen and the amount that employers are now prepared to pay for cost-estimators and projects managers are not that different from those offered before the pandemic. “It’s very different for those working in sales. Basic salaries for a so-called business development manager are not normally above PLN 10,000 net and, in some cases, can be even lower,” he says. Despite the difficulties of the previous year overall, the movement on the real estate market has been favourable. “For some specialisations, the monetary expectations of the candidates have risen,” adds Łukasz Silski. This is also stated in the ‘Polish Salary Review 2021’ report by Devire. Almost half of all real estate workers have received a pay rise over the last few months, while the salary of every third worker has remained stable. Only 25 pct of employees have seen their wages go down. In most cases, however, these were temporary cuts by the company to reduce costs, according to Devire.

A welcome bonus

And what is the situation for salaries across the European real estate market? Rustam Faskhutdinov, a senior consultant at Adelphi Recruitment Real Estate CEE, claims that everything depends on the position you hold – for instance, wages have not changed for construction and facility managers. “Salaries were frozen regardless of whether it was the retail, office or warehouse sector,” he explains, but he also points out that many construction managers have been laid off, whereas facility managers have held onto their jobs. In the case of those jobs that, according to Adelphi, “bring in the revenue”, the differences in pay have also been significant. The basic pay of a leasing manager has fallen (by about 20 pct), but their bonuses have risen. When it comes to investment managers, their salaries have been cut by 15 pct on average, while their bonuses have either remained the same or risen slightly. Property managers received a little less in terms of basic pay between May and August last year, after which their salaries returned to what they had been before the pandemic. As for asset managers, neither their basic pay nor their bonuses have changed. Lawyers and financiers working in real estate, meanwhile, have maintained their earnings, despite the Covid-related disruption to the market.

Money’s not everything

It’s nothing new to say that attractive salaries and an easy commute to work are not the only things of importance to workers as they also appreciate their fringe benefits. Marta Kulik of Cresa points out that many companies have been forced to reassess the benefits they offer their workers both in regard to their cost and the benefits they confer. “Perks have clearly become more important, such as private health care or gift vouchers that can be spent online. Companies have also introduced psychological support programmes and training courses to help workers manage their everyday finances,” she says, adding that some of the perks have been altered by their providers who have moved their services online. “New platforms have been created, on which employees together with their employers can decide where to place their resources in any given month,” she explains. Łukasz Silski of Devire believes that the standard benefits, such as health and life insurance, have remained the same as they always have been. However, it’s a different story when it comes to sports club cards. “Due to the ongoing restrictions, access to fitness clubs and gyms is very limited, which effectively means that no one can take advantage of this perk,” he says. He also points out that both employers and employees have changed how they attitude to working from home. This is currently the norm, even though working from home was previously considered to be one of the biggest perks for those in real estate.

Marta Kulik believes that not only are pay and benefits important, as they can attract potential employees at the hiring stage, but so is ensuring a friendly and safe working environment through creating the right corporate culture. “Managers’ everyday praise for their workers, care for long term skills development and team building activities are all factors that impact employee engagement, while not representing a huge financial burden for the company,” insists Marta Kulik of Cresa.

The ten most sought after and highest paid careers – according to Devire

land acquisition manager PLN 12,000–20,000 net

project manager (for preparing and developing investment projects) PLN 12,000–18,000 net

property manager PLN 11,000–16,000 net

asset manager PLN 18,000–30,000 net

investment manager PLN 15,000–25,000 net

leasing manager (industrial sector) PLN 15,000–30,000 net

development director PLN 20,000–28,000 net

technical portfolio manager PLN 15,000–25,000 net

facility manager PLN 10,000–15,000 net

lease administrator (managing lease contracts) PLN 6,000–9,000 net

Anna Trochim

country HR manager, Cushman & Wakefield

No knee-jerk reactions

Although 2020 was a huge challenge for our business, all the decisions we made to streamline it were based on a deep holistic analysis of the current situation and market projections for the next 12–24 months. In a market segment where your key assets are your employees’ engagement, their unique know-how, their abilities and their market knowledge, decisions over pay always have to be made, regardless of the circumstances, in a manner that is responsible, strategic, transparent and that is communicated clearly. 2020 forced us to take certain actions to reduce our base costs, which was reflected in the pay of the staff in some of our teams. This, however, allowed us to hit our targets at the end of the year. Nevertheless, we decided not to make any rash decisions to cut end-of-year bonuses, commissions or benefits, and nor did we freeze social security payments – because we understand the importance of keeping our staff motivated. We believe that by also running a tight budget in 2021 we will be able to continue to minimise the effect Covid-19 has on the overall earnings of our employees. It also shouldn’t be forgotten that our financial activities must go hand-in-hand with creating a corporate culture that promotes personal development, encourages collaboration, and fosters a sense of belonging and openness. Without that, you won’t be able to keep your employees – even by offering them the highest salaries.