CRE Workforce Dynamics & Hiring in 2022
Author: Forbes J. Rutherford, Principal, Rutherford International Executive Search Group Inc..
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 that 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 Distributed 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 distributed 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”
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 hybrid work is the new normal, the challenge for employers will be identifying employees with the behavioural profile to work in a distributed 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 with 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 perform well 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 similarly on 18 of 85 measurable traits and competencies but differ on the remaining 5, which 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 needed to assess an individual’s potential for success was limited to the executive suites of Global 2000 corporate clients. Today, with algorithmic machine learning and AI analytics, our approach to science-based hiring can serve as a standard hiring policy for even the smallest 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