Social mobility: how can we unlock the opportunity?

During the biennial Real Estate Balance EDI Industry Survey – the biggest of its kind – we asked participants specifically about their social background for the first time.

With the results suggesting that professionals in real estate are more privileged than average for the UK population, we’ve been thinking about this less visible area of inclusion and how as an industry we can work to make things more equitable.

In partnership with Savills, we recently brought together a group of property professionals to discuss the business case and moral responsibility for advancing social mobility in the workplace, asking how we can attract people from a broader range of socioeconomic backgrounds and provide opportunities to maximise their career potential. I’m pleased to share some highlights from this discussion below.

Business case for moral responsibility

There is now widespread consensus within the business community that the best way to deliver optimum outcomes is by having the most diverse range of people to provide the most diverse range of solutions to client problems.

This understanding is backed by significant pieces of research from the likes of McKinsey & Co and BlackRock, which link enhanced performance with progressive workplace cultures and a diversity of representation.

Alongside the business case, there’s also a specific moral imperative for improving social mobility within real estate: since our industry represents the entire country, it’s especially important that we have a good socioeconomic balance and include people who understand the backgrounds of the communities we serve.

While successful initiatives aimed at elevating people from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds early in their careers exist, such as BPF Futures and EG Future Leaders, we can’t ignore the fact that there is a distinct lack of representation of less privileged social backgrounds at senior levels within real estate. So how do we go about creating change?

Different socioeconomic backgrounds

One of the most important steps organisations can take is to set KPIs relating to social mobility at all levels, with leaders establishing a clear vision of the values that everyone should work towards. This will not only help to baseline current performance but enable progress to be monitored.

In addition, with recruitment and interview practices being one place where bias can creep in, some employers are now providing interview questions in advance to create a more level playing field for people from less privileged backgrounds, who may be intimidated by the traditional interview process.

Questions such as: ‘What would you do in this particular scenario faced with this particular issue?’ are much fairer than ‘How have you demonstrated this particular skill?’, since this gives people who may not have had a lot of work experience a broader set of possible answers.

Another piece of advice I’d give to any organisations looking to improve in this area is don’t try to go it alone: link up with an education partner, employability charity or local authority that can help to coordinate activities such as school and career outreach programmes – ensuring they are joined up, properly resourced and ultimately more impactful.

Maximising career potential

To help people from a wider range of socioeconomic backgrounds progress in our industry, I believe we need to listen more and create a culture where everyone feels like they belong, while providing specific support for line managers in the context of managing diverse talent.

Mentors can also be highly valuable in guiding colleagues at earlier stages of their career – and feeling invested in the progression of those people. Those from less privileged social backgrounds also have an opportunity to put themselves forward as industry role models and spokespeople, increasing visibility and inspiring others to do the same.

While real estate may still have work to do on its perception problem, it’s clear that the industry is changing for the better and becoming more diverse, opening itself up to new ideas and developing more inclusive workplace practices and cultures.

If you’d like to be part of this important movement, visit www.realestatebalance.org/join-us to find out about becoming a member. As well as sharing resources on social mobility, ethnicity, gender balance and more, our network of 120+ members has access to an industry-leading programme of events, thought-leadership and research, enabling us to take action and truly turn up the dial on diversity together. I hope you’ll join us!