Property fund managers opening chequebooks in war for talent

“Overall the biggest pay increases are being given by property investment companies,” said Debra Moloney, principal of remuneration consultants Avdiev Report.

Ms Moloney said senior investment firm staff were getting increases of up to 10 per cent, while mid-level staff were getting up to 12 per cent pay rises, and junior staff up to 14 per cent higher pay.

“Survey respondents reported these increases were to keep up with market rates and retain and reward staff,” she said.

The industry-wide biannual survey found a third of property companies were offering annual pay rises of more than 6 per cent – double the national average – despite rising cost pressures and growing pessimism about the economic outlook.

More broadly, annual property pay rose 4 per cent in October, significantly higher than the 2.7 per cent national private sector increase, according to the Wage Price Index.

Alongside fund managers, Ms Moloney said the most severe shortages of talent were being experienced by property developers, architects, builders and subcontractors.

Ms Moloney said junior staff at development and architecture firms were getting the bigger increases of up to 8-10 per cent, while mid-level positions were being offered 5-10 per cent increases.

“Positions with severe shortages include development managers, acquisition managers, sales executives, architects, interior designers, project managers and project engineers,” she said.

For building companies, hiring site supervisors and foreman and people in safety roles were proving the most challenging, the Avdiev survey found.

At the more corporate end of town, analysts, asset managers and investor relations professionals are in short supply.

“We’re having to pay more for people with less experience,” one survey respondent said.

This included paying someone with three to five years’ experience a “crazy” salary of $170,000, the respondent said.

ESR Australia boss Phil Pearce said development roles were taking longer to recruit because the combination of technical and business skills needed was quite unique.

“We deal with a large and diverse range of customers and need people who can manage all areas of the development process,” he said.

To attract and retain staff, Mr Pearce said ESR was offering many benefits beyond the financial such as the ability to purchase additional leave, a permanent smart casual dress policy, family benefits, salary continuance and life insurance coverage.

Amid the growth of the work-from-home trend – the Avdiev survey found one or two days at home was now seen as the new way of working – Mr Pearce said ESR Australia had a flexible working policy, but asked its staff to try to be in the office three times a week.

“However, that is business requirement-dependent and can be flexed as required rather than being a hard and fast rule,” he said.

John Ford, CEO of retirement village operator St Ives, said that while pay was only part of its retention policy, it tried to match annual increases to CPI.

He said the biggest shortages in his sector were casual and junior roles such as duty officers.

Liam Ovenden, regional director for people and performance at Colliers, Asia Pacific, said it aimed to promote people in the organisation to retain them and recruit at the lower job levels rather than play the pay-rise game.