CRE Workforce Dynamics & Hiring in 2022
Author: Forbes J. Rutherford, Principal, Rutherford International Executive Search Group Inc., Managing Director, NEXTalent Marketplace & Job Board, T: 855-256-5778 or Chat
Introduction: In Q2/2020, Rutherford International asked 204 senior multi-sector industry leaders within Canada’s commercial real estate industry to rank the political, economic, social and technological threats they expected to face through Q4/2021. Participants with direct or indirect authority over their resource plans also provided details. Please note, the data collection was completed early on in the pandemic when few of us foresaw an extended lockdown.
This is the third article in a series of commentaries that examine potential threats to Canada’s CRE industry, post-pandemic workforce dynamics and the probable impact on industry employment in 2022.
HR Challenges in 2022 – Hiring a Distributive Workforce
Employers are adept at equating experience, education and skills requirements when judging prospective hires, but statistically, 80% of involuntary departures are due to behaviour. A statistic of this significance makes figuring out cultural fit the dominant hiring challenge when hiring a distributive workforce. Hiring only for experience gets you average results. Hiring for performance and behavioural fit gets you 55% greater productivity and 25% greater profits than an average employee in the same role.
“80% of Involuntary Departures are due to Behaviour”
Dr Larry Cash, Lehman & Associates
Distributive workforce roles are nuanced, and each classification represents a different performance profile. Not everyone can work remotely, but far more can work in a hybrid environment. If working hybrid is the new normal, then the challenge for the employer will be identifying employees who have the behavioural profile to work in a distributive environment.
“Not Everyone Can Work Remotely”
Forbes J Rutherford, Rutherford International, 2021
There are endless psychological tools used for behavioural assessment. Few, however, are capable of associating behaviour to specific career functions. A person may have a solid behavioural orientation to business as a Chief Executive Officer or President but lack the critical traits to high perform as a CFO. The same is true for a hybrid working Controller or a sales representative.
“Above Average CFO’s Share 23 of 85 Measurable Traits & Competencies”
Dr Larry Cash, Lehman & Associates
High-performers in each of our functional benchmarks have twenty-two to twenty-three of the eighty-five characteristics in common. For instance, a high-performing real estate lawyer and a high-performing litigator may score relatively the same in eighteen of eighty-five measurable traits and competencies but vary in scores for the remaining five that make them above average in their respective legal disciplines.
“Cost of a Bad Hire is conservatively 30% of the Non-Executive’s First Year Income”
Northwestern University, 2019
In the past, access to the actuarial science necessary to calculate an individual’s potential for success was limited to the executive suite of Global 2000 corporate clients. Today, with algorithmic machine learning and AI analytics, our approach to science-based hiring can be a standard hiring policy for the smallest of enterprises.
“46% of Hires are Deemed Failures within 18 Months”
Forbes.com – 2019
Employers can be more accurate in hiring for ‘fit,’ and individuals can be more predictive in choosing careers where they’ll be most successful and satisfied.
To Learn More About Rutherford International’s Approach to Hiring a Distributive Workforce