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Show Me The Money: How Pay Transparency Can Help Create A Fair Workplace
When commercial real estate candidates look for their next career opportunity, they will weigh several factors including location, company culture and the day-to-day of the role. But one of their top priorities will likely be salary.This is why salary transparency in both job postings and throughout a company is so key. By disclosing salary details in a job posting, employers can help ensure that applicants are on the same page. Also, being upfront with current employees about salary decisions also helps create a culture of transparency in the workplace.“Employees who understand why they earn their specific level of pay are much more likely to trust their employer, and that trust can go a long way toward boosting a company’s ability to recruit and retain top employees,” the Society of Human Resource Management stated in a Jan. 2024 article.What Is Pay Transparency? Pay transparency is the act of putting salary details out in the open, whether in the context of a job description or to employees internally about how companies determine compensation. Being forthcoming about salaries helps promote equity and diminish pay differences based on gender and race.SelectLeaders Associate Director of Recruiting Katie Hart said that when employees understand how pay is structured upfront, it helps mitigate concerns about pay inequality. “Transparency establishes a shared system that feels fair and consistent, giving everyone a framework they can trust,” she said. “Employees are more engaged because they know the pay scale from the start and what it takes to advance within the organization. This also strengthens the interview process, as candidates can evaluate opportunities with clarity rather than negotiating in the dark.”What Are State Laws Regarding Pay Transparency?For some states and jurisdictions, disclosing salary and benefits is a “must-have” rather than a “nice to have”.Pay transparency laws refer to the regulations regarding how employers share salary information. Paycor found that currently, 14 states plus Washington, D.C. have legislation around pay transparency, with Ohio having local laws in place. These states’ laws are based on one or more of the following criteria:How many employees the company hasWho they’re required to inform about compensation and benefits (external applicants in job postings and/or employees)If other disclosures need to be made, such as those around commission-based roles or upon promoting or transferring employeesAdditionally, 22 states have laws dictating that employers can’t ask candidates how much they earned previously.“Rather than basing offers on a candidate’s current or previous pay, employers should focus on what candidates are targeting in their next role, as for most, making a career move is tied to both professional growth and an increase in compensation,” Hart said. By asking candidates about their compensation goals early in the process, employers can create an open dialogue around pay structure and, in turn, be transparent about the budget for the role from the outset.How Can Employers Navigate Pay Transparency?Hire Candidates Who Value TransparencyA prominent reason that candidates say no to a company’s offer if the salary is too low and negotiations end up going nowhere. Presenting a salary upfront in the job post can help employers avoid the scenario of candidates backing out after multiple rounds of interviews and ensure that they’re not missing out on top talent. Get Everyone AlignedWhen employers take time to create and communicate pay structure to employees, they are fostering transparency. According to SHRM, employers should be working out salary details in advance of hiring to minimize pay disparities, as well as informing their internal teams about how the company’s roles are structured.Avoid Large Pay ScalesWhile it may seem that providing a salary range is enough to comply with pay transparency, leaving too wide a gap within the range, such as offering a salary between $50K and $150K can cause candidates to either be dissatisfied by the posting or scratch their heads about where they land on that scale. It can cause candidates to not only start negotiations at the higher end of that scale, which can risk them turning down the offer, but also leave them with negative views of the company.Employers can consult with executive recruiting firms like SelectLeaders to gain insight into how to disclose pay properly and comply with state laws. Click here to get started with posting a job and securing CRE top talent today.
NAIOP Research Foundation: Succession Planning for Commercial Real Estate Firms
Preparing and implementing a plan to transfer control of a firm to a new generation of leaders can be a daunting prospect. Leaders of commercial real estate companies often face additional, unique challenges due to their firms’ complex valuation processes, intricate tax strategies and multifaceted ownership structures. The NAIOP Research Foundation, in conjunction with Wipfli and The DRG, authored this study to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with succession planning for CRE firms.View the study here: Succession Planning for Commercial Real Estate Firms: Benefits, Best Practices and Common Challenges
How CRE Employers Can Help Employees Prioritize Mental Health
In a relationship-driven industry like commercial real estate, many companies focus on maintaining strong rapport with their business partners, property owners, tenants or contractors, among others. In their drive to maintain business relationships, however, CRE firms need to make sure they are regularly checking in with their employees as well. A May 2024 Society for Human Resource Management study found that of the 1,405 U.S. workers surveyed, 35% stated that their job was having an adverse impact on their mental health. While offering a supportive, growth-oriented office environment and flexible work options can help employees feel appreciated , there may be times when team members are not feeling their best or are struggling with their mental health. When that happens, it’s important for employers to have support and resources ready.Fostering a culture that prioritizes mental health wellness includes ensuring that employees can be allowed to take time off as needed without repercussions, said CRE Recruiting Principal and founder Allison Weiss. While an employee handbook might allow people to take time off for mental health reasons, if the company culture frowns upon it, employees may internalize the notion that mental health is not as important as physical health.Company leaders can model positive behaviors, such as taking time off to focus on their mental health when they need it or openly sharing their strategies for what they do when they are struggling, she said.Luxury Living Chicago CEO and co-founder Amy Galvin said that discussing mental health openly can eliminate stigmas and allow people to “bring their whole self to work.”“When we talk about mental health, and we normalize it and remove the stigma around it, we create a culture in which people feel safe to ask for help,” she said. “Talking about it in the workplace helps with building safety and creates an environment in which people can thrive.”Another way to lead by example, Galvin said, is to model work-life balance, such as only communicating with colleagues and clients about work during business hours.Weiss said that companies can also create wellness committees with representatives from different departments who can speak on how wellness practices are incorporated into their team.Ascension Coaching and Consulting Career and Leadership Coach Erin Aldrich-Shean said that inputting flexibility — through hybrid work and providing spaces where employees can get away from their desks for a few minutes — can go a long way.“Having that flexibility, whether it’s being fully remote or being remote on Mondays and Fridays, has been key for employees who don’t necessarily need to be in the office for their work,” she said. “As long as employees are producing the results they need to produce, they should have some autonomy in their schedule.”Mentorship is another way for employees to feel supported, which is especially key for CRE professionals in the early stages of their career, Aldrich-Shean said.“They need kind and compassionate mentorship, for someone to look at them and think that they have a lot of potential,” she said. “In times of stress and burnout, it’s crucial to have someone you can lean on who has been in your shoes before. For employers, it’s about ‘how can I help the next generation come up?’”Weiss emphasized the importance of bringing forth initiatives that address mental health throughout the year, so that employees can feel comfortable being transparent about what’s going on in their lives and seek access to resources and support.“A huge percentage of people at one point in their life or in an ongoing capacity are experiencing mental health challenges, and it’s not a small problem,” she said. “The more we can have information readily available and start conversations about it, the more we can establish trust, reinforce that trust and make it part of our culture.”For employees who are struggling with their mental health, Galvin offers three pieces of advice: set boundaries for your work life, make time for rest and ask for help if needed.“Asking for help can be a strength not a weakness,” Galvin said. “At work, we don’t want to let anyone know that we can’t do something or we’re having a bad day, but if you need help, say something. You don’t have to struggle your way through everything.”
Talent Management Strategies for CRE: Key Needs for a Winning Strategy
Why Does Talent Management Matter in CRE?Talent management is best described as working with employees who have desirable skills and nurturing their growth as they advance in their careers. Talent management acknowledges that an organization’s leaders values their employees and sets them up for success. This includes rewarding them for their achievements and improving the organization’s operations based on employee feedback. Talent management isn’t unique to CRE, but it is important. In CRE, you’re looking to attract, develop, and retain the top industry talent. The reasons why talent management is important in CRE are: Keeping your workforce skills relevant to the current market climateImproving customer satisfaction Maintaining an edge over the competitionAttracting higher-quality talentOffering higher growth potential. You’ll start to see that talent management in CRE goes beyond just keeping your people happy. It’s about supporting them to over perform and demonstrating to potential hires that your organization is a strategic career choice.“Talent management is a big deal in CRE because, honestly, the industry runs on people,” Brittany Acosta, a senior corporate recruiter at Bisnow and Select Leaders, said. “You can have the best assets or portfolio, but if you don’t have the right people in place — leasing, asset management, acquisitions, operations — it’s hard to execute well or grow.” Brittany added that there is a difference when it comes to large versus small firms. Talent management is equally important regardless of firm size. Big firms, however, tend to have systems in place — leadership development, succession planning, training programs — because they have the infrastructure to support it. Smaller companies might not have all that structure, but every single hire makes an impact. “One great person can really move the needle,” Brittany said.Talent management vs. talent developmentTalent management: Hiring staff with the right skill sets, nurturing their talent growth by rewarding better performance, and improving existing operations around staff.Talent development: Mentoring employees and providing tools to advance their talent and skills to develop a more effective workforce. These two strategies are related but not entirely the same. A talent management strategy is a larger initiative that encompasses the hiring process, feedback for your employees, and optimizing your operation. While part of this strategy could include talent development, it doesn’t necessarily assume that you need to give your employees mentorship. How you craft your talent strategy will depend on the resources that your CRE organization has at its disposal and what your current workforce needs. A CRE startup, for example, may not have as many resources to invest in talent development and mentorship. However, a startup will still need to nurture the growth of their existing talent. Emerging trends and talent managementTalent management can help future-proofs your organization around evolving market dynamics. New technology, trends in remote work, and sudden economic shifts can impact the hiring process and employee retention. A sudden change in the CRE market may reduce the amount of talent with a specific skill. Or, it may suddenly create a new employee expectation that your organization isn’t currently implementing it. Artificial intelligence is a great example of recent trends that are impacting not only hiring and talent management trends, but also day-to-day operations.With an existing talent management structure, your organization is ready and equipped to adapt to these sudden shifts. If there is a shift, your CRE firm will have a competitive edge in employee retention with demonstrable evidence of how you’re supporting employees. Talent Management FunctionsKey components of a talent management framework are:Workforce planning: Identifying future talent needsTalent acquisition: Recruiting top professionals in CREPerformance management: Evaluating and optimizing employee contributionsEmployee engagement & retention: Ensuring job satisfaction and long-term commitmentSuccession planning: Preparing for leadership transitionsEmployer branding: Optimizing how your company shows up in the talent marketplaceDiversity, equity and inclusion: Not only hiring for DEI, but also creating an inclusive environment where people want to stay and growWinning Talent Management Approaches for 2025 in CREData-driven hiring: Using AI and analytics to find the best talentEmployer branding: Showcasing company culture, values, and benefitsFlexible work models: Offering hybrid/remote options where possibleDiversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives: Prioritizing inclusive hiring and career advancementCompetitive compensation and benefits: Ensuring salaries, bonuses, and perks align with market trendsProp-tech integration: Leveraging technology to enhance talent acquisition and trainingEmployee well-being programs: Promoting work-life balance and mental health resourcesSpeed to hire: Streamlining your hiring process so you don’t lose highly qualified prospectsRegarding speed to hire, Brittany Acosta added, “Speed to hire isn’t flashy, but it’s critical. Candidates expect fast, respectful, streamlined hiring processes. If your process drags out, the best people will walk — even if your offer is great.”She said these are the three most important factors that candidates are looking for:Growth potentialFlexibilityCompany culture and leadership style“I’ve seen smaller CRE firms win top talent from big-name competitors, not because they offered higher salaries, but because they sold a vision: more exposure to deals, more decision-making input, and a clear path to VP or partner-level positions,” Brittany added.Should You Adopt a Talent Management Strategy?'If you want to know more about how developing a talent management strategy can help your organization, check out this McKinsey study.The study found that 99 percent of respondents reported their talent management strategy has been effective in improving overall business performance. When implementing a talent management strategy, the three practices that are most closely linked with effective talent management, according to the study, are:Rapid allocation of talent: Allocating talent based on strategic priorities arising and dissolvingHR’s involvement in employee experience: Human resources staff facilitating a positive employee relationship that can respond to new employee trends and needsStrategically minded HR team: Understanding the organization’s current strategy and priorities and aligning those with candidates’ goals With the findings from this study, we can start to see how implementing a talent management strategy is a total organizational shift. This can be right, or wrong, for your company depending on the timing and where the company's priorities currently are. During a busy season, it may be difficult to adopt a talent management strategy. However, if you’re struggling with employee retention, a better talent management strategy may be at the core of the issue.
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