Following a year filled with unpredictability, we look to the forces that will shape the industry this year, informed by the work and insights of our global team. In Ferguson Partners’ Hiring Forecast 2022, we share key hiring trends expected to be top of mind this year. The tectonic shift in how people live and work over the past few years continues to impact the real estate industry in variety of ways. As a result, real estate investors worldwide face an array of new challenges and opportunities that will shape hiring priorities and activity this year. Longer term, the industry is looking for its next generation of leaders who can succeed in this changing marketplace.
A snapshot of those included:
Succession planning
This wider net for talent will also be necessary to shore up succession planning. Finding and preparing the next generation of leadership has been a key issue for many years and has taken on greater urgency over time. A generation of talent left the industry during and after the global financial crisis of 2008- 2009 for more promising opportunities. As a result, the industry’s talent pipeline has proven insufficient to its needs. This dearth of key talent is particularly problematic for the many firms that want to expand their C-suite of executives. Firms see this expansion as necessary to manage growth and pursue a range of new opportunities in the marketplace. Demand for talent capable of succeeding at the vice president level is also particularly high. In general, demand for talent to fill the top 60% of positions continues to grow.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)
Firms continue to emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), often contracting for diverse hires throughout the organization and at the board level. In a competitive market for talent, this focus on DE&I is not only the right thing to do, it has also forced firms to abandon certain assumptions about the talent they need. As a result, these searches have introduced firms to candidates and pools of talent that they may have overlooked in the past.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
Firms are also emphasizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) experience
and expertise by engaging in specialized searches for senior leadership and mid-level professionals with ESG capabilities. However, finding the right people will require firms to clearly define exactly what ESG means for their organization and what kind of mandate ESG will have. For example, will certain positions have responsibility for all aspects of ESG or will those responsibilities be divided up by department?