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RESEARCH SPONSORS:
INTRODUCTION
Keeping up
with changes in
legislation and
professional
standards remains
a key priority
WHO WE SURVEYED
We received responses from
agents across the property industry
representing a broad spectrum of
job levels. The survey was weighted
towards those in senior positions.
One in five respondents described
themselves as a director, while a
further 12% were either a managing
director or partner. Eight percent
described themselves as managers.
One in 20 respondents were chief
executive, chairman or owner of their
organisation. Just over one in 10
said they were an associate. Other
job titles included general manager,
consultant and senior manager.
Property or
estates manager
was the most
commonly used
job description
19%
11%
36%
8%
7%
19%
0 - 49
50 - 99
100 - 499
500 - 999
1,000 - 5,000
5,000 +
GRAPH 2. NUMBER OF
EMPLOYEES
40
39%
35
30
27%
25
20
15
10
9%
7%
4%
4%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
Consultancy - multidisciplinary
Property agent
Other
Facilities management
Consultancy - building surveying
Legal
Financial
University/education
Local authority
Property developer
Consultancy - QS
The frustration
felt about what
some see as
bureaucratic and
unnecessary rules
was evident
AGENCY CHALLENGES
We asked respondents to rank four
different agency challenges on a scale
of one to five in relation to the impact
they were perceived to have on business.
A rating of one meant no impact, while
five meant the impact was high. The
options chosen reflect some of the broad
challenges that face those involved in the
property agency world (graph 3).
Compliance with legislation and
professional standards emerged as the
challenge that most affects the industry
today, with an average rating of just under
four out of five. The frustration felt about
what some see as bureaucratic and
unnecessary rules was evident in some
of the responses. Asked what would
help them overcome their top challenge,
one agent said: If the government and
the RICS stopped passing pointless
legislations and added qualification for
the sake of making revenue from us.
Some respondents felt there was a place
for legislation, but called for the current
arrangements to be reassessed. One
agent called for regulatory reform of the
industry so clients know more about what
to look for and who they can trust as well
as stricter controls.
Following closely behind the issue of
regulation was the trend among occupiers
and investors for cost-cutting this
challenge received an average rating of
3.92. In some cases, the issues of cost
cutting and regulation were seen to be
closely linked. One agent said they would
3.92
3.5
3.6
3.0
2.5
2.54
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
GRAPH 4. DO YOU
BELIEVE SOFTWARE OR
TECHNOLOGY COULD
HELP YOU OVERCOME
YOUR MAIN CHALLENGE?
65%
35%
Yes
No
14%
86%
Yes
No
TECHNOLOGY AND
MEASURING KPIS
More than 60% of those surveyed said
they used technology to measure KPIs at
their firm (graph 6). Responses showed
that software and technology is playing an
increasingly important role in assessing
how well a firm is doing but also that
adoption of technology can be crucial
to improving performance in the first
place. One agent noted that business
is often won on the basis of our current
technological advances over other firms
and this is constantly improving.
The biggest way, in which technology
was seen to help, was in providing an easy
way of quickly and accurately assessing
large amount of data, then communicating
this across the firm. One agent noted that
technology provided the ease of producing
data and reporting, which helps to ensure
current KPI figures, so negative results can
be identified quickly while another said
technology provided ease of collation for
ready comparisons and presentation of
data that can be taken in at a glance and
readily understood across departments.
70
63%
60
50
40
37%
30
20
10
Yes
No
Only 42% of
respondents
who managed
a property
portfolio said they
had systems in
place to monitor
sustainability
GRAPH 7. HOW IMPORTANT IS ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERED WITHIN YOUR BUSINESS?
20
16%
15
15%
15%
10
10%
9%
9%
9%
8%
5
6%
3%
0
1
Rating
10
TECHNOLOGY AND
SUSTAINABILITY
There remains a broad spectrum of opinion
about the importance of environmental
sustainability in the property business.
We asked agents to provide a mark out
of 10 to indicate its importance within
their firm. Only 3% gave it the minimum
score, while one in 10 said it was of
maximum importance (graph 7). The most
popular answer was eight, but one in six
respondents ranked it midway with a mark
of five. Such varied opinions reflect the
range of views, which also exist among the
agency worlds clients.
The mean average of the responses by
agents, investors and occupiers suggests
overall perceptions of sustainabilitys
importance are largely similar. Agents
emerge as the group to rank it of highest
importance by a small margin with an
average rating of 6.07 compared to 5.95
among investors and 5.7 among occupiers.
As with these other groups, small
agency firms were less likely to see
sustainability as an issue of high
50
43%
40
32%
30
25%
20
10
Yes
SOFTWARE
COMPATIBILITY
Software compatibility and the transfer of
data, whether taking place within firms or
across the wider industry, was a key issue
with nearly 60% of respondents. More
No
n/a
30
29%
Careful
consideration
should be given
to what results
this investment is
expected to yield
25
20
20%
18%
15
17%
15%
10
CONCLUSION
Four out of five agents we surveyed said
they had plans to invest in new technology
or software in the next five years (graph
9). This reflects the fact that the agency
market appears tuned in to the ways in
which technology and software can help
tackle business challenges old and new.
For example, many respondents were
particularly optimistic about the way
in which mobile technology could help
property professionals adapt to a job that
is increasingly done on the move.
However, while largely optimistic about
the role technology can play, our survey
highlighted that not everyone finds using
it straightforward. Agents reported that
the biggest challenge facing the industry
was compliance with regulation and
professional standards. A large proportion
of respondents appeared to be struggling
to make software work for them in
this regard.
John Cuppello, chief executive of
Qube Global Software, says: This is