Making Safety and Inclusivity a Priority

In 2019, no one dreamed how 2020 would roll in. It was supposed to be business as usual. The biggest awakening from everything that has happened this year is that it is definitely business as unusual. It has tested our creativity and patience and make us take a look at things we just took for granted.

As real estate and relocation professionals, this has been a time when we can think, what if? What if we used this opportunity to make the process easier, safer and more inclusive?

Inclusivity

I have worked for brokers who have agents from all walks of life and from many countries and represent many cultures and ethnicities. Part of that is because I have worked primarily in the LA area which is a melting pot and is very diverse. But it was never as diverse or as inclusive as it should have been or could have been. We never had an appropriate representation of people of color in the company or on the team.  I didn’t do enough to make sure our relocation teams were as diverse as they should have been because frankly, I never really thought about it. I wasn’t sensitized to it and that’s a problem. Now is the time for all of us to stop and make a concerted, ongoing  effort.

The lack of diversity in leadership in real estate is still a very real issue. If you look at leadership in virtually every large real estate company or real estate tech firm, I will bet you that the top three people in leadership are men, which is unfortunate even though the industry is heavily populated with women. Women and minorities are grossly underrepresented in board rooms as well. I know many companies are working hard to change that.

Take a look at your agent population. Are all colors, ethnicities, backgrounds, cultures, ages, genders and types of people represented on your relocation team? If you brokerage suffers from the lack of a diverse make up, then work with your leadership to do something about that. It is an ongoing, long term effort that never ends. How can your recruiting efforts shift? How about creating a mentor program to draw those into our industry who may have never thought it was an option for them? Every university has intern programs and career days (albeit virtual for the moment). We must make their path into our industry welcoming. Our transferees represent all types of people and our team should reflect that. We must be an equity advocate and make it an ongoing priority.

We must work with our team of relocation agents to make sure they are clear on expectations around Fair Housing and how to appropriately and fairly represent the marketplace they service. They may not know what they don’t know. It’s appropriate to have a dialog with them about the expectations of your department and your clients for appropriate and fair representation.

Ensure the vendors and suppliers who are doing work for you in relocation are a diverse group of business owners and have employees who represent all groups. Set a goal and work to create an inclusive group of vendors to support these local businesses. We need to set goals and seek out opportunities to build a broad based supplier pool.

It’s ok to ask questions and to feel uncomfortable doing so. The effort, the dialog and the education must be deliberate, constant, thoughtful and relentless. If you are struggling with how to make the necessary changes to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion, you might want to seek outside help from a company like www.GoCulture.org.

Safety and Security

The pandemic has made us all question how business and work spaces will look in the future. How can we make sure our staff feels safe if they return to work at the office? Is the work space regularly cleaned and offers comfortable social distancing and has PPE available? For those that want to work remotely, are they being appropriately supported? Have it clearly defined for returning workers and for new hires to give them options. No matter where they choose to work, they should feel comfortable and safe. Not only is it the right thing to do, it avoids extreme liability.

Is there policy and procedures for your agent team regarding the handling of relocation clients in our new world of COVID-19? We have an obligation and duty of care to our sources of business.  How are the team of relocation agents handling tours, showings, listings and closings? Are all of the agents on board with social distancing, mask wearing, virtual showings, digital signatures and remote closings? If not, they don’t belong on the team. The adoption of fully digital processes should really be one of the new key criterial for the relocation team. It’s time to cement it into our culture. It’s your right as a company to determine how your company services the clients in this new world.  Remember, ‘no shirts, no shoes, no service’? Now it might  be ‘no mask, no distancing, no relocation assistance’.  It’s for not only the protection of our agents, but the sellers, tenants and the transferees (whether they like it or not).

Every broker should have a clear set of “how to’s” that are executed by the agent team and information about expectations given to all transferees at first engagement. Be clear on what the expectations are from your corporate and relocation management clients. They may have specific deliverables they need from you in the area of compliance. Some areas are coming out of this quicker than others, but if a transferee is coming from a hotspot, they will be particularly concerned about their safety and we should be hypervigilant to make sure they are comfortable with the process. This is no time to leave things to chance.

Control the environment and you can create a better and safer experience for all. As we all know, people don’t like to be controlled, but common sense and science must be the prevailing factor as we move forward with our employees, agents and clients.

Everyone is operating at a high level of anxiety right now and it is our obligation to do what we can to make people feel safe and included. One day we will look back on 2020 and marvel at how we got through it. But we will and there will be changes that happen this year that will forever change how we do business, for the better.

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.” ~ Verna Myers, Author, Speaker and Influencer