Employee morale in real estate requires a major boost: Track2Realty survey

The morale of employees in India’s real estate sector seems to be on a downward slide, with many accusing their employers of deception and saying they are open to sharing inside information, finds a survey by Track2Realty

The productivity of an enterprise, is directly proportional to the happiness index of its manpower. However, when it comes to Indian real estate, a vast portion of the workforce remains disillusioned, while businesses seem unwilling to address the issue. Nearly eight out of 10 employees in Indian real estate (78 per cent), are ready to quit anytime, if they get an opportunity. A vast majority of these professionals, 72% to be precise, would not mind changing the career paths, to get out of what they call ‘deceptive employment’. Employees, almost 88 per cent of them are open to leaking inside information for a price. Eighty per cent even question why they need to be honest employees, of dishonest employers.

These are the findings of an annual pan-India survey by Track2Realty, to find out the top 10 employers in the sector and the improving or deteriorating job environment, in the business of real estate. The survey found that in addition to the low morale, an increasing number of employees were getting vocal against the sector in general and their own employers in particular. Track2Realty conducted the survey in ten major real estate markets – Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Pune Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Coimbatore. A structured questionnaire that was based on five key indicators – job satisfaction, job culture, future outlook, work-life balance and job ethics – was given to the respondents, who were mostly between 25-45 years of age, with at least five years of professional experience. To make the respondents representative of the sector at large, employees/ex-employees of top 10 real estate companies in each city, were also interviewed.

 

Survey highlights

  • 78 per cent of the real estate workforce is ready to quit their job any time, due to dissatisfaction.
  • 72 per cent real estate employees are even ready to change their career paths.
  • 88 per cent real estate professionals do not mind to leaking company information.
  • 80 per cent of those who are ready to leak information, do not find it immoral.
  • 80 per cent of the real estate workforce said they were willing to go vocal against their employers, after quitting.
  • 68 per cent of the professionals resented the performance evaluations, which they felt were arbitrary.

See also: Real estate, construction top employment generators in April 2017

 

Whistleblowers deterred by lack of job opportunities

The survey tried to figure out whether the employees would be vocal against their employers, once they leave the jobs. No less than 80 per cent of the employees said they were ready to expose their employers but it was only the lack of opportunities in the market that deterred them. “Economics can teach you about gainful employment. Economics can also teach you about ungainful employment. However, what real estate can teach you, is deceptive employment. These developers know the art of making life difficult and yet, ways to retain the talent through deception,” laments Rajeev Kochar (name changed on request), the sales head for a leading developer in Delhi-NCR.

 

Ethical behaviour should be a two-way street

Employees also do not feel that it is unethical to complain about the poor job culture, while continuing with the same job and yet, leaking information that could damage their employers. “Honesty is a two-way street. I was forced to quit a hostile working environment and the builder forfeited my pending compensation. It is only when I sent them a strong legal notice and threatened to expose them in the media that I could get my due payment,” says the former marketing and communication head of a leading Mumbai-based developer, who wished to remain anonymous.

 

No transparency in performance evaluation, say employees

A majority of the employees (68 per cent) also lament the lack of transparency in performance bonus. They question the performance evaluation methodology in the companies. “If catering to the promoter’s wish is the only performance evaluation metric and tangible numbers are ignored, then, I do not think it is immoral to pass on the sales lead to friends who are brokers and get paid by them,” points out another real estate employee in Ahmedabad, requesting anonymity.

(The writer is CEO, Track2Realty)

 

Was this article useful?
  • 😃 (0)
  • 😐 (0)
  • 😔 (0)

Recent Podcasts

  • Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 42Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 42
  • Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 41Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 41
  • Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 40Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 40
  • Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 39Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 39
  • Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 38Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 38
  • Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 37Keeping it Real: Housing.com podcast Episode 37