To win you must know your enemy, or so a paraphrasing of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War might go.
Does the same apply in property? Having employees that have worked on both sides of the battle lines can certainly help, whether they have moved from client to agency or vice versa.
Mark Rigby, chief executive of ratings specialist CVS, says that around a third of the 60 surveyors in his business have come from the Valuation Office Agency, the public sector body with which it does most of its negotiating for clients.
“There is a negotiation-based discipline in everything that we do,” says Rigby,
“and it helps if we can see the other perspective.”
Derek Griffin, head of London at Premier Inn, says it is important to have a mix of employees from both sides of the property business if you want to be successful.
“Having a mix of client-side and non-client-side backgrounds gives you a more balanced view of what the challenges are doing business,” he says.
While the benefits of trading places from client to agency or vice versa are clear, the switch is not entirely without its issues.
Remuneration is one area that can throw up difficulties for those moving from one side to another. For a worker to leave the public sector and take up an agency position in the private sector, he or she has to get used to a completely different format of pay and reward.
“The public sector does not have the profit and loss driver that the private sector does,” says Rigby. “We are very keen for our surveyors to understand that there is a clear correlation between time and effort, client satisfaction and reward.”
And budget cuts in the public sector, with the accompanying lack of pay rises in the face of continuing pressure to reduce the deficit, could be a driver for more staff to make the crossover.
Rigby says: “It’s hard to do the job when costs are constantly being cut. But there is a much closer relationship between effort and reward in the private sector. You can get valued better in the private sector environment if you are successful.”
It is not all about the money, however, and a move to the client side, says Griffin, can bring with it a depth of experience that you just cannot get as an agent.
“The property transaction is just a snapshot,” he says. “Client-side, you get more involved in the whole thing, understanding how we appraise sites through to developing and operating them.”
“But,” adds Griffin, “one background is no better than the other. Individuals would do well to have experience of both sides – client and agency – so that they can find where they feel most comfortable and where they get the most enjoyment.”
Agency to Client
Owen Ellender, acquisition manager, Whitbread
Move: CBRE Hotels to Whitbread/Premier Inn
“My property career started when I moved into the CBRE Hotels team in 2008 and started putting my graduate skills into practice. Nearly four years later, I moved client-side to Whitbread as part of the Premier Inn acquisition management team. For me, the crossover was about finding the right way and right company to develop my skills and to refine the specialisms I knew I wanted to focus on in order to move onwards and upwards in my career.
“At CBRE, I established a broad foundation of skills. Agency is good for that. At Premier Inn, it’s been about developing specific skills to a greater depth and putting them into practice within a business that’s serious about getting things done (Premier Inn is doing a deal roughly every 10 days on new locations).
“The move has certainly been interesting and rewarding. Now that I’m on the other side of the table, I feel I can empathise with our agents more but, equally, hold them to account. You certainly bring a fuller understanding to any deal and that has value.
“My tips? Firstly; look before you leap. Agency is dynamic and fast-paced. Not all clients offer the same culture. Join a firm, like Whitbread, that’s committed to delivering. Secondly; know your role in the machine. Agency has clearly defined career paths. Ensure you can see the same when moving client side. And thirdly, chose a move that enables you to genuinely develop a specialism. Improve your value by enhancing your skills within a sector for which there is
market demand.”
Client to Agency
Dean Bosley, regional performance director, CVS
MOVE: Central unit head at the Valuation Office Agency to CVS
“I built my career at the Valuation Office Agency, starting out 30 years ago as a clerk, moving up to case worker, lead valuer and then unit head for the Central region. I’m perhaps not a typical candidate to jump ship. I owe a lot to the VOA and accrued a wealth of professional experience and a network of talented colleagues. But after 30 years it was time for a new lease of life. I loved engaging with the challenges of property day-to-day – valuation, case work and tribunals. But further up the ladder the knots of bureaucracy and protocol complicate your ability to deliver and to lead.
“I’d seen CVS expanding rapidly in the market from the other side and gradually came to believe that I could use my experience to make a difference for them, for ratepayers, and for myself. Since moving to the private sector six months ago, I have been hugely excited by the level of ownership and ability to shape the direction of the business. The support network is entirely geared around surveyors – both in terms of the separate infrastructure to support you with client service, research, litigation and sales, but also in terms of the confidence and freedom the business gives you to drive forward an idea. Pitch a strategy to the senior team and it can happen in days, not months. The buck stops with you, but staying competitive and succeeding or failing by your decisions has brought a new dynamic edge to my career.
“My top tip? Have confidence in your experience. It counts. Use it and find somewhere that values your skills.”
