Stop the Exit: Why Your Property Sector High-Performers Are Leaving And How to Keep Them
The property industry is currently navigating a period of intense skill transformation, yet many firms are still losing their best people.
In a market where niche expertise is non-negotiable, retaining your existing talent is your most critical competitive advantage. If you can't retain them, you're not just losing an employee; you're losing a year's worth of training, vital project knowledge, and the ability to win future business.
Here's why your high performers are being lured away, and a practical retention blueprint to turn your firm into an employer of choice.
The Retention Crisis: Three Reasons Your Top Talent Is Walking
The high demand for specialists, from RICS Surveyors to Block Managers, means the job market is incredibly fluid. Your staff are being recruited right now by competitors who offer more than just a slight pay bump.
The Compensation Chasm (It’s Not Just Salary)
While a competitive salary is foundational, high-performers are leaving because their total value, including benefits and opportunities, doesn't match the market.
The Data: Replacing an employee in the UK earning over £25k can cost an average of £30,614 (Oxford Economics). This replacement cost often far exceeds the small investment needed to retain them.
The Fix: Your competitors are offering clear career pathways and specialist training budgets. A top-tier Property Manager is looking for the path to Head of Department, not just a 3% annual raise. Retention today requires a plan that visibly invests in their future value.
The Compliance and Burnout Trap
Property roles, particularly in management and lettings, are increasingly complex due to new legislation (like the Renters' Reform in the UK). This complexity, combined with high client expectations, leads to burnout - a leading reason why property managers and estate agents quit.
The Data: Poor work-life balance, high-pressure scenarios, and a wide range of responsibilities all contribute to the burnout of property managers (LoftyWorks). When they feel overwhelmed and under-resourced, a lateral move for a slightly better title and workload balance becomes irresistible.
The Fix: Technology. High-performers want to focus on strategic work, not endless admin. Firms that fail to invest in PropTech: streamlining maintenance, compliance checks, and lease administration, are essentially forcing their best talent to waste time on low-value tasks.
The 'Accidental Manager' Deficit
Retention is directly tied to the quality of management. The property sector, like many others, often promotes technical experts or high performing salespeople into management roles without then offering proper leadership training, creating a negative culture.
The Data: Research has shown that one in three workers have quit a job due to bad management, and workers with "ineffective" bosses are far more likely to leave (CMI/YouGov).
The Fix: Your training budget needs to focus on leadership skills as much as technical / sales skills. Your best surveyor may be a terrible team leader without the right coaching. Creating a supportive, professional, and appreciative culture starts at the top.
The Worth Recruiting Blueprint: Actionable Retention Strategies
As a trusted partner, Worth Recruiting helps you move from reactive hiring to proactive retention. We frame your company’s “Why us” factor and look at what makes your company unique and a compelling choice over a competitor.
Create a Clear Roadmap for Career Growth
Instead of keeping salary and promotion decisions locked away in separate departments, use concrete market data to build transparent career paths.
Worth Recruiting can illustrate what your top competitors are paying for in-demand experts like Property Managers, ensuring your compensation is competitive. We can guide you to think about the candidate’s path to the next promotion and make this visible and completely clear.
Invest in Training
Stop seeing training as a box to tick. Instead of generic, one-size-fits-all courses, direct your budget toward the critical skills that will drive your company's success tomorrow.
Worth Recruiting will advise you to focus your professional development funds on skills that build long-term value, no matter your property sector like, Leadership & People Skills are invaluable! These include: Development in emotional intelligence, effective communication, and inclusive team leadership. Also consider Digital Fluency (sector-specific technology adoption).
Directing funds toward these future-proof competencies sends a powerful retention signal that you're investing in your employees' long-term careers. Publicly committing a meaningful budget, for example, highlighting an annual training allowance for future-proof skills, can be a far more powerful retention tool than a modest salary increase.
Build a Culture Where People Feel Valued
Employees stay when they feel respected, supported, and their hard work is recognized.
Avoid the "accidental manager" problem by setting up leadership coaching to ensure your team leaders are actually skilled at managing people. Simple, consistent actions make the biggest difference:
·Recognise Excellence publicly with quarterly awards for things like compliance or customer service.
·Offer Flexibility (like work-from-home, part-time or job share options) where possible.
·Prioritise Wellness with proactive mental and physical health support.
These steps reduce burnout and transform your company into a genuinely appealing place where high-performers want to commit their careers.
By addressing these core issues: Money, Burnout, and Management Quality, your firm will move beyond simply filling vacancies. You'll build a resilient, high-performing team that competitors simply can't afford to lure away.
Talk to the Property Recruitment Team at Worth Recruiting:
