CBRE, U+I and law firm Reed Smith shared their thoughts on tangible measures that could be taken to speed up progress towards diversity in the real estate industry, during EGi’s The Diversity Battle debate.
At the Not Just Another Property Event panel, held last night (13 September) at U+I’s Horwick Place office, SW1P, speakers and attendees discussed practical methods for increasing diversity, including external assessments, quotas, marketing and training.
Benchmarking with EY measures
Justin Carty, senior director at CBRE, said the agent used the National Equality Standard, run by EY, as a benchmark for diversity and inclusion. This initiative assesses companies on 49 different criteria split into seven categories, covering issues including unconscious bias policies, diversity and inclusion policies, staff training and social engagement.
“There is no hiding. It costs quite a lot of money, so the company board has to be serious about promoting D&I,” he said.
“When we were first assessed, we failed miserably: we only passed on 17 out of 49 criteria. We had to spend 18 months changing the way we operate and our approach. We have since passed, with 36. Some see that as a tick-box exercise, but I think this has created real change in the organisation.”
Carty also highlighted the importance of “training management to understand people are different”.
“Senior management definitely recognises this. There is a war on talent. There is a real business angle to all this,” he said.
“There is room for [all the real estate agencies] to collaborate. We need to talk. D&I is not a property problem, it’s a society problem. We need to reach across the industry to tackle this.
Marketing materials
The importance of engaging talent from a broader range of backgrounds by increasing visibility through promotional materials was also addressed.
Nav Sahota, senior associate at Reed Smith, observed: “When I look back 15 years, when I was deciding on which international law firm in the City to go to, I looked through all the brochures and bios and photographs in the office for people who were diverse. That was important to me. That was the reason I preferred certain law firms.
“[Now I recognise] I need to do more, now that I am part of the graduate recruitment team. We need to show there is room for other diverse people.”
A 30% requirement
Reed Smith, which is based in the US, is in its second year of operating with a quota for promotions under the Mansfield Rule, where candidate pools for promotion must comprise a minimum 30% of people from diverse backgrounds.
“It is very new to our organisation but we are seeing positive results from it. It is in its infancy, but this will hopefully change the make-up of our [institution],” said Sahota.
Training schemes
The panel discussed the need for schools programmes to engage people from diverse backgrounds at a younger age as a longer-term solution to diversity in the industry.
Joanna Axon, development director of regeneration at U+I, said: “In terms of diversity at U+I, we suffer a bit from [a lack of] availability of talent. We need to engage the younger ages, so we are starting a schools programme.
“We engage with local schools and get them to come to the office and see what we do. We run a programme with some architects where younger people can come in and design stuff. So that is a start.”
Commercial advantages
The panel also debated the commercial benefits of improving diversity. Carty noted: “It is not ideal but if we can monetise diversity it could be in a good place, if it helps get diverse staff to where they need to be.”
Commenting from the floor, Ollie Saunders, lead director of alternatives at JLL and a board member of LGBT network Freehold, said: “One thing that can drive diversity is the commercial benefit. The pink pound is important in the property industry – there are 1,100 people in Freehold, so it’s a force for good. Property is driven by networks and clients.”
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