Key Findings from Zillow’s Report

• Nationwide Surge:
  Half of all U.S. states now have at least one city where entry-level homes exceed $1 million, highlighting a widespread affordability challenge.
• Regional Highlights:
  • California: Leads with 113 cities featuring million-dollar starter homes, including 59 in the Bay Area alone.
  • Florida: Eight communities in South Florida, such as Fisher Island and Pinecrest, have joined the list, with starter home prices ranging from $1.1 million to over $4 million.
  • Texas: Seven cities now report million-dollar starter homes, a significant increase from zero in 2020.
  • Unexpected Markets: States like Rhode Island, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, and Wyoming are also experiencing this trend, indicating its nationwide reach.
• Affordability Concerns:
  The median age of first-time homebuyers has risen to 38, the highest on record, while their share of total home purchases has dropped to a record low of 24%. High mortgage rates, insurance premiums, and maintenance costs are contributing factors.

Implications for Talent Acquisition

The escalation in starter home prices presents several challenges for organizations:

• Recruitment and Retention:
  High housing costs may deter potential candidates from relocating, especially younger professionals or those early in their careers.
• Compensation Strategies:
  Companies may need to reassess salary structures, housing allowances, or relocation packages to remain competitive in high-cost areas.
• Remote Work Considerations:
  As affordability declines in urban centers, offering remote or hybrid work options can expand the talent pool and alleviate relocation pressures.
• Workforce Diversity:
  Rising housing costs can disproportionately affect underrepresented groups, potentially impacting diversity and inclusion efforts.

Strategic Talent Solutions with TalentWoo

Understanding housing market dynamics is crucial for effective talent management. At TalentWoo, we specialize in aligning recruitment strategies with real estate trends to ensure your organization attracts and retains top talent.

For a detailed analysis, refer to the full Zillow report.

Stay informed and ahead with TalentWoo’s strategic talent solutions.

The post The $1M Starter Home Boom: What Hiring Managers Must Know first appeared on Talentwoo.

The post How to Hire High-Performing Loan Officers Today first appeared on Talentwoo.

The post Talent Acquisition | Spotlight on the Top 5 Reasons to Include RPO in Your 2023 Planning first appeared on Talentwoo.

Property Administrators: The Binding Factor

Property administrators are the binding factor that keeps the lease-up process together. They manage the daily operations of the property, such as leasing, maintenance, and resident relations. Property administrators are accountable for making sure that the property is well-maintained, fully leased, and producing revenue. They act as the main point of contact for residents and prospects, and collaborate closely with other members of the team to ensure the lease-up is successful.

Maintenance Professionals: Keeping Things Running Smoothly

Maintenance professionals are accountable for maintaining the property’s smooth operation. They perform maintenance and preventative upkeep on the property’s systems and appliances, and make certain that the property is secure and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. Maintenance professionals work closely with property administrators to guarantee that all maintenance requests are completed promptly and to the satisfaction of the residents.

Custodians: The Unsung Heroes

Custodians are the unsung heroes of the lease-up process. They are accountable for maintaining the property clean and presentable. They perform daily cleaning tasks, such as sweeping and mopping hallways and common areas, and making certain that trash and recycling are properly disposed of. Custodians work closely with maintenance professionals to ensure that the property is always in top-notch condition.

Lease Agents: Bringing in the Renters

Lease agents are accountable for discovering and vetting potential renters. They give tours of the property, answer questions about the leasing process, and assist prospects in completing their applications. Lease agents work closely with property administrators to ensure that the leasing process is streamlined and efficient.

Groundskeepers: Maintaining Appearances

Groundskeepers are accountable for maintaining the property’s exterior in excellent condition. They mow lawns, prune trees and bushes, and plant flowers and other landscaping. Groundskeepers work closely with property administrators to ensure that the property’s exterior always appears at its finest.

How TalentWoo Can Help

TalentWoo has years of experience helping multifamily companies staff their properties to maintain high occupancy rates and returns. We offer a range of staffing solutions, including executive search and recruiting process outsourcing. Our team of experienced recruiters has collaborated with some of the leading multifamily enterprises in the industry, and we’re confident that we can aid you in discovering the right experts to guarantee a successful lease-up. Contact us today to learn more about how we can aid your multifamily enterprise prosper

The post The Art of Apartment Lease-Ups: A Comprehensive Guide to Recruiting a Successful Team first appeared on Talentwoo.

This is the classic scenario described by the old adage, “When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”  In other words, you need to have a variety of tools if you are going to adequately address a variety of problems. 

While the talent acquisition function is absolutely crucial to every organization, TalentWoo explains what recruiting can and cannot do for a company that is looking for authentic solutions to business challenges.

Recruiting will never create meaningful work

According to Talent 2020 – a longitudinal survey series conducted for Deloitte Consulting LLP by Forbes Insights – employees value meaningful work over other retention initiatives. “A majority (42%) of respondents who have been seeking new employment believe their job does not make good use of their skills and abilities.

Moreover, surveyed employees who are planning to switch companies cited a lack of career progress (37%) and a lack of challenge in their jobs (27%) as the two top factors influencing their career decisions.”

In summary, it is more prudent (and cost-effective) to create better work environments to address attrition, rather than pay talent acquisition, training and on-boarding costs associated with new employees.

Recruiting is no substitute for leadership

According to this same survey, “A workforce is far more engaged and committed when it trusts its leadership, receives clear communications about corporate strategy, and believes its leaders have the ability to execute on that strategy. In other words, employee retention is not simply an HR function; it should be driven by business leaders.”

Strategy and culture cannot be simply written and communicated by HR and Recruiting.  It has to be something that is genuinely believed in and lived out at the highest levels of the organization – from the top down.  If it is not, there will be attrition problems that no staffing agency can overcome.

Recruiting CAN give you a pulse on the market

Because recruiters spend their days talking to employees that work for your competitors, their voices are absolutely crucial to every business leader.  How is your company perceived in the marketplace?  What are other companies paying their employees, and how does your company compare?  How are their organizations structured?  What are other companies doing to retain their employees (ie why is your recruiter having a tough time convincing employees to leave your competitors)?

Recruiting CAN spread brand awareness

Your recruiting department, or the best recruiting search firms, will enthusiastically spread the news about your real estate company, its leadership, its culture, its successes, its unique products/services and position in the marketplace, its benefits, its unusual perks, and so on.  Recruiters spread awareness of your employer brand.  They love to do it.  It’s how they draw candidates in.  Let them.  But please be sure the brand they represent stands for something.

If your real estate company is currently hiring and you are looking for a staffing company to help you with employer branding, recruitment advertising, applicant tracking software or just good old fashioned talent acquisition (staffing), then contact TalentWoo.

About TalentWoo Real Estate Recruiting

TalentWoo Staffing helps real estate organizations find, attract and hire best-fit talent to scale their operations. We’re more than just recruiters; we’re real estate recruiting experts!

We offer builders, developers and owners of residential, commercial and industrial properties a variety of real estate recruiting services, including outsourced recruiting process support, providing on-demand resources during times of frequent turnover, seasonal growth, or lack of internal recruiting capacity.

With our niche expertise in the real estate industry, we can help you find the right people in today’s tight labor market and competitive employer landscape.

The post 4 Simple Truths about Real Estate Recruiting first appeared on Talentwoo.

Posting your job on Careerbuilder.com or Monster.com

While it is true that many passive candidates may infrequently check the major job boards for current openings, these two websites have fallen out of favor with many candidates within the last ten years.  Sure, you can use better posting sites like Indeed, or even specialty boards for very specific talent, but remember, most talent in America is gainfully employed and you want a better strategy than “Post and  Pray.”  See how your competitors are bypassing this antiquated method of hiring in this article on GlobeSt. which discusses the tight labor market for talent, and an alternative strategy for property management staffing.  This is the most time-efficient and cost-effective property management staffing approach.

Listing your job on your company career site 

This is a best practice, of course.  We would never suggest that a company not list their current openings on their careers page.  But this is not a strategy; this is just covering your bases.  Unless you are a well-known Fortune 500 company, or have spent significant time and money creating an enticing employer brand, your best hires will not likely come from your career page.  Focus your property management staffing instead on a strategy to DRIVE traffic to the careers page.

Going to a job fair 

In many cities there are career fairs:  college career fairs; military career fairs; and other types of career fairs put on by government employment agencies.   These can sometimes work for entry-level roles, or roles that don’t require specific skills.  If you’re willing to train; this can be an option. 

However, for specialty roles like property managers, unless the fair is part of a larger real estate-focused convention, this may not be the best use of your time.  Many markets require that their property management professionals have licenses and/or certifications to conduct transactions for your company. 

TalentWoo recommends that you save your time and “booth money” for a job marketing campaign strategy that attracts passive candidates, specifically those from your competitors and who have the required training and certifications.  This will boost your property management staffing efforts.

Farming your job out to 5 or 6 contingency real estate recruiters (an approved vendor list)

Pitting several real estate recruiting agencies against each other actually drives down candidate quality.  The premise is basically that  using multiple vendors simultaneously to accomplish anything, while promising only to pay the one who finishes first,  creates a dynamic where vendors are no longer interested in quality work.  Quality suffers, scope suffers, costs increase (to cover the risk of lost time and resources), and the hiring company ultimately loses out.  In no other industry does one ask for multiple suppliers to work for free, with no promise of payout.  If you want quality, you have to select a quality vendor to partner with, and then treat them as a quality partner.

TalentWoo offers a unique partnership opportunity for real estate companies looking to onboard hard-to-find property management and leasing talent.  We are able to cut the cost of property management staffing – often times by up to 50 to 75% – with our niche network, our recruitment process outsourcing solution and experienced recruiting consultants.  By implementing passive candidate targeting strategies and aggressive job marketing tactics, we have been able to successfully hire thousands of candidates for our real estate clients, nationally.  To hear more about TalentWoo can help your organization with game changing recruiting solutions, contact us today.

The post 4 Costly Property Management Staffing Mistakes first appeared on Talentwoo.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is a strategic talent acquisition solution that enables companies to expand their recruiting capabilities rapidly and cost-effectively. In this model, the company partners with an RPO provider to manage all or part of its recruiting functions and “either assumes or provides its staff, technology, methodologies, and reporting,” according to the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association. RPO differs greatly from other recruiting solutions, such as traditional staffing, contingent/retained search, as it “assumes ownership of the design and management of the recruitment process and the responsibility of the results.”

As RPO has evolved over the past two decades, RPO delivery models have changed, and RPO engagements have become more defined. In this article, TalentWoo explains common challenges of RPO customers, types of engagement, why RPO engagements sometimes fail, and how REITs, Property Management Companies, Homebuilders, and Private Equity Firms can prevent failure during RPO selection and contract negotiation.

For additional information about recruitment process outsourcing, please visit the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association website at: www.rpoassociation.org.

Most Common Challenges Faced by RPO Clients

Companies seeking to outsource their recruiting functions often face capacity and budget constraints. Clients are often experiencing high growth but have a limited budget to invest in talent acquisition. It’s often the decision to build or buy. Building out a recruitment function adds fixed costs to the organization, and capacity and expertise are limited to those that are hired. Buying, through an RPO partnership, provides a solution that scales with the organization’s growth and provides access to the recruitment expertise of an entire organization.

From a more strategic perspective, RPO clients may struggle to align their recruitment strategy with their business strategy. Every industry is becoming more niche, requiring a specialized recruitment approach. The right RPO partner can provide the depth and breadth of recruitment to meet those specialized needs.

Models of RPO Engagements in the Marketplace

Many RPO providers offer various “models” to educate potential buyers. Generally, RPO models range from a fully outsourced relationship to just sourcing candidates and everything in between (hybrid models).

• Fully Outsourced RPO: The RPO partner operates as a true extension of the client’s HR team. The RPO partner is accountable for filling every opening within the organization, managing all recruitment spending, managing the ATS (Applicant Tracking System), interacting directly with the hiring managers, and providing recruitment analysis and strategy to leadership.

• Sourcing Only RPO: The RPO partner generates candidate names based on the requirements provided by the client. The client is responsible for managing those candidates through the remainder of the recruitment and selection process.

• Hybrid RPO: This model falls between the two.

As we advise potential buyers, it’s important to focus on developing the right solution/relationship through an understanding of business drivers, rather than trying to force them into a predetermined “model.”

Why Do RPO Relationships Typically Fail?

RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) relationships are often plagued by misaligned expectations, leading to failure. During the sales process, clients tend to hear certain key messages and make assumptions. Hence, it’s crucial for RPO buyers to clearly define and agree on expectations from the start of the relationship.

Another factor that contributes to the failure of RPO relationships is high turnover, both on the client side and the RPO provider’s side. If there’s executive buy-in from the client’s side regarding the decision to outsource, turnover on the client point of contact usually won’t negatively impact the relationship. However, turnover in the recruitment team supporting the client could sometimes put the partnership at risk. To avoid such situations, clients and providers should focus on recruitment results instead of individual recruiters. RPO providers typically have resources to immediately backfill in case of turnover, which should minimize service disruptions.

Sometimes, RPO relationships fail when organizations don’t prioritize talent acquisition. For instance, if a client engages an RPO partner as a temporary solution and isn’t fully committed to investing time in the relationship, it’s bound to fail. Although RPO providers bring extensive talent acquisition expertise to the table, understanding a client’s culture takes time, and identifying the best talent for the organization requires patience.

When evaluating RPO providers, some common metrics include time to fill, interview to hire ratios, cost per hire, hiring manager satisfaction, and candidate satisfaction. As RPO partnerships evolve, more clients are looking for performance-based metrics, such as employee turnover and quality of hires. RPO providers don’t hesitate to commit to having a positive impact on both these measures, but accurate measurement requires that the client understands their baseline and has the ability to consistently measure and report it.

In our experience, the most successful RPO partnerships place value beyond these metrics. Such clients are completely transparent and view talent acquisition as a key strategy for their growth. As a result, we have a seat at the table, providing insights and analysis that helps us form a stronger partnership.

Key Elements in an RPO Contract

To govern the RPO relationship contractually, a best practice is to use a Master Services Agreement, which is supported by one or more statements of work (SOW). The services agreement defines the legal terms of our working relationship, including terms, liability, billing and payment, confidentiality, solicitation, insurance, warranties, employment relationships, and so on. The scope of work defines the specifics of the services being provided. If additional services are added, amendments to the scope of work manage them.

Executive Level Support

When seeking executive-level support for an RPO engagement, involving them throughout the sales process is key. The executive team needs to be supportive of the decision to partner with an RPO firm and comfortable with the partner selected. Although they don’t need to be involved in every meeting or discussion, the RPO firm should provide executive-level summaries or information to facilitate communication between the client point of contact and their executive team. It’s also essential for the RPO provider to validate the business drivers/objectives with the executive team to ensure alignment within the client organization.

Ingredients for Strong Partnerships

The most important elements for a long-lasting RPO relationship are transparency, trust, and commitment. Transparency is critical as the RPO provider is operating on behalf of the client, and hence they need to understand what’s happening within the organization as it happens. Trust is often difficult to establish, but it’s essential for the client to place trust in the RPO provider. Commitment from both parties is essential for a long-lasting relationship, and hiring managers need to provide time to ensure that recruiters understand what they are looking for within the roles and provide productive feedback on candidates. The client point of contact needs to invest time in supporting the relationship and addressing challenges as they arise. Ultimately, there needs to be a strong commitment from both parties for the engagement to be successful.

About TalentWoo

TalentWoo is a leading provider of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services that helps organizations streamline their recruitment processes and find the best talent for their business needs. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, TalentWoo’s RPO services offer end-to-end recruitment solutions, from sourcing and screening candidates to onboarding and employee retention. The company’s RPO services are customizable to fit the unique needs of each client and can be scaled up or down based on hiring demands. TalentWoo’s team of expert recruiters uses innovative technologies and strategies to identify and attract top talent, resulting in faster time-to-hire, reduced costs, and improved candidate quality. With TalentWoo’s RPO services, organizations can focus on their core business while leaving the recruitment process to the experts.

The post How to Engage with a Real Estate RPO Provider first appeared on Talentwoo.

The post 7 Factors to Consider When Choosing an RPO Provider first appeared on Talentwoo.

TalentWoo always recommends that hiring managers use the Behavioral Based Interview method of discovery.  The premise, in summary, is that past behavior dictates future performance.  Your goal as a Sales Manager, Sales Director, or Vice-President of Sales is to get the candidate speaking specifically about behaviors and patterns they have exhibited in the past, to determine how they might work in your organization if hired.  Here, then,  are 7 example interview questions you can ask a potential employee that will cut through the fluff and pinpoint whether the person sitting in front of you is a top performer.

1.  How do you rank among  sales peers in your current company?  Walk me through what you do differently that accounts for this ranking.

(Tip: Anyone who does not know the answer to this question is a definite non-hire.  Top performers ALWAYS know where they are compared to their peers, because they are always at the top, or trying to get there.  You want someone who is self- driven and competitive. Anyone who is not in the top 10% is probably not what you are looking for, either).

2.  Tell me about a business or personal goal that you set for yourself and achieved within the last year.  What was it?  What tasks were involved in accomplishing the goal?  How did you feel when you reached the goal?

(Tip: Is this person truly goal-oriented by nature?  Do they set and achieve personal goals as a way of life?)

3.  Describe your typical sales process, from start to finish, when you are meeting with a prospect.  Give me an example of a time when you used this process and it failed.  What happened, and what did you learn from it?

(Tip: You are looking for someone who is thoughtful, organized and process-focused.  Do they use a consultative sales approach, structured selling approach, or is it just “shoot from the hip”?  Is it a consistent, repeatable process that they can adjust & improve with each sale, or do they merely rely on charm and personality?)

4.  Can you tell me about a time when you were able to get to the bottom of a situation, when the customer or prospect was incapable of communicating what they really meant?  If so, how did you achieve this?

(Tip:  What kind of listening skills does this person have?)

5.  What have you done this last year personally for your own professional development (i.e. specific training  in sales;  books you have read; seminars you have attended, etc)?

(Tip:  You are looking for someone with a thirst for self-improvement.)

6.  Describe a situation with a client or prospect where you made a mistake.  How did you handle the error?

(Tip:  Is this person honest and trustworthy as your ambassador?  Dig for integrity.)

7.  What metrics are used to define your success?  How are you performing against these metrics?

(Tip:  Like question #1, top sales reps are never vague.  They know EXACTLY what the metrics are, how to track them, how they measure up, and are constantly working on how to EXCEED them.)

TalentWoo helps growing companies with recruiting challenges to target, select and hire the right sales people.  Our unique Applicant Relationship Management software (powered by Accolo) uncovers  core competencies in more than 7 key areas.  This allows hiring managers to save time and money by making consistently great hiring decisions.  Don’t entrust your sales recruiting to just anyone; and don’t cut-corners to make cheap hires.  Money spent on making the right sales hire is the best investment a company can make.  To find out more about how TalentWoo’s online recruiting solution can help build your sales team quickly and efficiently, contact us today!

The post Sales Recruiting – 7 Crucial Interview Questions first appeared on Talentwoo.

Many managers will opt to work with contingency firms, because the fee structure is such that payment is only made to the search firm if a hire is made.  No hire, no fee.   Retained search firms, on the other hand, will require one-third payment upfront, the second third after the submission of 3 qualified candidates, and the last installment after a hire is made.   Thus, it is possible to spend thousands of dollars and not ever hire a candidate through such a search firm.  Why then, would anyone want to use a retained search firm, or hire a recruiter on retainer?

1.  Commitment

Listen to these retained recruiters explain the difference in their own words to the Columbia Business School (starting at 2:11).  Below are the two main reasons it may make sense for your organization:

While on the surface, contingency agencies may seem to be an ideal option with very little risk, there is also very little incentive for the agency to prioritize your open position.   Remember, the search firm, just like your hiring organization, is focused on their bottom line.  They will spend their energy and resources where they feel they have the best chance of making a return on their investment.  If you have a hard to fill position that requires lots of work and little chance of finding the right person, the contingency recruiter will likely prioritize searches from other companies with a higher chance of success.  In other words, the contingency agency is not a stakeholder.    A retained search firm, on the other hand, is committed to your project, and the risk is shared equally between both parties.  Initial payment is received, allowing the retained firm to expend time & resources toward the initial search and research.  Also, there is the additional incentive for them to find three qualified candidates,  so they can receive the second payment installment. They also feel committed and connected to making the right hire, because they have received money up front, and feel the pressure to produce. For these companies, reputation is their only guarantee for future business, so there is little risk the retained firm will take your money and “not produce.”

2.  Competition

Because a contingency agency only gets paid when a hire is made, they will usually engage multiple companies to ensure they have several opportunities to place the “right candidate.”  Unfortunately for you, this means that when a contingency recruiter presents you with a qualified candidate, you can be sure that they have usually presented this same candidate to other employers as well.  Not only this, the candidate himself, may or may not be represented by  multiple contingency recruiting agencies.  And if this were not intricate enough, the candidate himself may be searching for openings on his own.  That’s a significant amount of competition!   A retained search firm will not only ask for commitment from the hiring company, but will usually ask for exclusivity with the candidate as well.  Such a firm, because they are guaranteed payment upon producing certain deliverables, can fully commit to your search.

To learn how TalentWoo’s executive search hiring consultants and recruiting process outsourcing service can offer you the same advantages of retained search firms, in some cases at substantially reduced cost, please contact us today!

The post Working with Recruiters: Contingency or Retained? first appeared on Talentwoo.