CREW Up: Finding CRE Talent Is Still Challenging, Says Karen Whitt

Commercial real estate isn’t necessarily perceived as the most exciting or lucrative path by college graduates, CREW Network 2024 President Karen Whitt said in the third episode of CREW Up this year. Today, many Gen Zs want to be influencers and are more interested in jobs that have to do with AI and technology. But with AI having a lot of applications in redefining important parts of the industry, CRE firms can leverage that and attract the talent who want an exciting job in tech, but also stability.

As the president of Colliers International’s Real Estate Management Services division, Whitt leads a team of almost 2,000 people. Recently, she noticed that talent availability is loosening up at both the executive and the entry level, but finding qualified, experienced candidates is still a challenge. So retaining current employees is critical, and creative, empathetic leaders that understand the power of investing in training can go a long way.

Tune in for this quarter’s CREW Up episode with Commercial Property Executive Senior Editor Laura Calugar!

Here’s what you’ll hear about:

• The CRE labor market today (0:47)
• Why skilled talent is hard to find (1:51)
• Are the new industries a disruption to the CRE labor market? (3:02)
• Cost of hiring a new employee (4:09)
• Is training hard to do? (5:23)
• Retaining and training talent (7:10)
• What matters most to employees? (7:57)
• The role leaders play in retaining talent (8:50)
• The CREW Network Convention in Vancouver, Canada (11:53)

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