In years past, the real estate industry developed a reputation
of accommodating those individuals who wanted
to work part-time.  By contrast, it was
common for traditional businesses to require
employees to make a full-time commitment to the company.

The real estate industry also attracted many part-time
agents because some individuals wanted/needed to keep their “day jobs” that
provided medical benefits while working part-time as real estate agents on
nights and weekends. 

Enough real estate companies allowed this behavior that the
perception stuck and a defacto brand was established from the candidate
perspective: The real estate industry is a viable place to work part-time.

This part-time/ full-time dynamic has long been a source of
frustration for many high-performing real estate companies, because part-time agents are rarely
successful.  While the part-time status is now discouraged
(and sometimes even forbidden) by many real estate hiring managers, the
candidates often don’t know this until they get to the interview. Their perception is based on the defacto brand.

Wouldn’t it be great if the real estate industry employment
brand could be changed so that serious, professional, and full-time candidates were
the norm and those wanting part-time work focused on other industries?

That’s exactly what may start happening in the next few
years.

How?  This radical
change in perception is being driven by some very powerful organic forces in
the job market at-large, and real estate companies will have the opportunity to
benefit from these changes.  

The powerful change I’m referring to is the propensity that
traditional companies have towards cutting employee hours and benefits to avoid
upcoming healthcare reform requirements. 
A recent article in the Washington Times highlights the impact of these
changes:

“Since January 2009 the country has added a net total of 270,000
full-time jobs, but it has added 1.9 million part-time jobs, according to the
House Ways and Means Committee.

The numbers come as…businesses [are trying] to save money and push
workers into shorter schedules to avoid the penalties that come from hiring
more full-time workers, who under the law will be required to be covered with
health care insurance.”

Think about what’s happening.  
Our economy now has millions of people who are working part-time with no
medical or other traditional employee benefits. 
Most of these people would rather be working full-time, but their
employers don’t offer this option.

To become more gainfully employed, some people are choosing to work two or more
part-time jobs. While this may work for some individuals, it’s often difficult to coordinate work schedules and make this option a viable long-term solution.  So, many individuals hang-on to the best part-time job they can find,
lower their personal expenses, and wish they had a full-time job. 

As we discussed a few weeks ago, many of these workers are
languishing and would be open considering options outside the traditional job
market.   To a person in this situation, a real estate
agent position may look surprisingly attractive—it’s full-time and has an
opportunity for growth that corporate America cannot match.

As you shape your employment brand in the future, I recommend the
following:

1. Don’t hire part-time agents. 
Offering full-time work is now your competitive advantage.

2. Learn to compete against those offering part-time jobs.  Craft your recruiting messaging and your interview
tactics around the concept that your main competitors are non-real estate
companies offering part-time jobs.  Find
out these competitors’ weaknesses and exploit them during the recruiting
process.

There are lots of talented people in the workforce who are not fully utilizing their talents.  For the first time ever, the real estate industry may be in the best position engage these talents and put them to work in full-time positions.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.