Addressing PropTechs Hiring Problem
It is exceedingly hard to attract the best talent into proptech
I put out a post on LinkedIn a few weeks ago which talked about the challenges in hiring in PropTech. A screenshot of the post is below -
The post got a good amount of attention and many leaders weighed in which helped me validate that the problem was real.
Why is it difficult for PropTech companies to hire the best talent?
There were many points of view that were floated in the ensuing discussion but 1 comment from Mark Hurst, Founder of HurstX Solutions stood out. He reasoned that exposure to gaming, social, ed-tech, etc. starts very early in life for people and as they grow older, it is easier for them to relate to the problems that startups are solving in those industries. It is likely that they never thought about renting or buying a property till they were significantly older, and hence, it is not a top priority for them to join this industry.
Gaurav Singhal, Founder of AmSpaces, also chimed in with a valid point that talent doesn’t want to join PropTech because PropTech hasn’t caused significant disruption to the world yet! He felt that talent will flow to sectors which are causing real impact, and once entrepreneurs make a dent in the real estate world, great people will flock to it and will want to work there.
There are some legacy problems with people joining PropTech companies as well. In many parts of the world, real estate agents and developers have not set high ethical and moral standards and society has viewed the industry with skepticism. Whenever they see their friends/family members thinking about joining PropTech, they typically advise them against it.
An important factor to keep in mind is that there aren’t any global brand names in PropTech. When you look at other large industries, they inevitably have an incumbent or startup as a ‘poster boy’ -
Ecommerce: Amazon
Social: Facebook
EdTech: Udemy, Khan Academy
Gaming: Zynga, EA Sports
Fintech: Paypal, Stripe
Proptech doesn’t have any just yet. While companies like Zillow and KE Holdings are definitely large, their influence is restricted to their home country alone and haven’t made a move internationally yet.
Airbnb, which is definitely enjoys near celebrity-status amongst startups, is still widely viewed as part of the travel/hospitality industry and not part of the PropTech just yet.
Ok, so What do we do about it?
There are no simple answers to hard questions, but I do feel there are some simple steps all PropTech/Real Estate leaders can do.
Work on getting young people excited about PropTech
The house we live in, the office we work in, the restaurant we eat in - Everything is very much part of the real estate industry, and PropTech plays a big part in how these properties are created, bought, sold, rented and managed. We need to learn to convey versions of this message in a way that young people understand it
Be vocal on Social Media, especially the ones that young people follow
Many PropTech and Real Estate leaders stay quiet on social media and post only when they want to promote their business. I would hope this trend changes and everyone posts more often about all aspects of the industry - The good, the bad and the ugly. Real Estate Twitter is truly amazing with many leaders talking about their business quite openly. I hope this trend continues, and we see similar activity on Instagram, LinkedIn and other media as well
Investing in training programs in Universities
It will definitely be worth our time to partner with local universities and colleges to offer a ‘Real estate 101’ course for students. Even if it fails to attract people to the industry, it would definitely help educate society on the industry and may help through 2nd or 3rd order effects.
Would love to hear from readers on this - Do you have a hiring problem? What are some ways you are solving this for your organization? What can the PropTech community do together to solve this?
Reply and let me know! I’d love to brainstorm with you too!
Kumar, I completely agree with you and the opinions of other authors. In my case, the replenishment of the team was like this-university and free hiring. The university gives the best result. Free hiring gives a random result, often a bad result. ps. Thanks. Good decisions to all colleagues! With your permission, I will publish your letter in Russian on my FB page.