Estate Agency Recruitment: The Mistakes You’re Making Without Realising
Recruiting for your estate or lettings agency can feel like a minefield. On the surface, it should be simple: advertise a role, interview, hire. But time and again, property agencies fall into avoidable traps that waste time, cost money, and damage team performance.
At Windmill9 Consulting, we speak to estate agency owners and hiring managers daily. Many are unknowingly making recruitment decisions that are holding their business back, often in subtle, long-term ways. Here are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Waiting Too Long to Hire
The market moves fast, but many agencies are still treating recruitment like it’s 2010. Waiting weeks to gather more CVs or compare candidates often means you miss out entirely. Good candidates don’t hang around, particularly in a competitive property market.
Fix:
Speed up your hiring process. If a CV grabs you, interview quickly. If a candidate fits, offer decisively. Delays can be the difference between a good hire and starting over.
2. Hiring Only for Experience
It’s tempting to hire someone who’s “done it all before.” But that can lead to stale hires who lack drive, or mismatched personalities who never quite settle into your team.
Fix:
Don’t just hire experience — hire potential. Look for coachability, energy, and cultural fit. In many cases, we’ve seen trainees or career changers outperform so-called veterans within months.
3. Ignoring the Power of Employer Branding
Would you walk into a valuation appointment in your pyjamas? No. So why are so many job ads poorly written, outdated, or missing key details?
The impression you make as an employer matters. Candidates are vetting you just as much as you’re vetting them.
Fix:
Review your job adverts, website, and social media through a candidate’s eyes. Sell the opportunity. Showcase your culture. Use testimonials from existing staff.
4. Not Using a Specialist Recruiter
Many agencies either go it alone or use generalist recruiters who don’t understand the property sector. This leads to irrelevant CVs, wasted interviews, and frustration.
Fix:
Use a recruiter who specialises in property. Someone who knows what a good Lettings Negotiator or Branch Manager looks like, and what they expect from their next role.
At Windmill9, property is all we do. We speak the language, we know the market, and we already have warm candidate networks waiting.
5. Underestimating Cultural Fit
You can’t teach personality. Hiring someone who’s technically capable but wrong for your office culture leads to friction, poor performance, and eventual turnover.
Fix:
Define your agency’s values and team dynamic. Make sure interview questions and recruiter briefings cover these softer, but crucial, points. It’s about who they are, not just what they’ve done.
6. Ghosting Candidates
Too many agencies don’t follow up with candidates they’ve interviewed. Not only is this unprofessional, but word spreads. It damages your reputation and puts off future applicants.
Fix:
Communicate clearly at every stage. If you’ve decided not to proceed, let them know. A 30-second email can preserve your agency’s name and integrity in the market.
7. Hiring Without a Clear Brief
One of the biggest reasons recruitment efforts fail is lack of clarity. If you’re not 100% clear on what the role entails, what “good” looks like, or what the progression path is, how can anyone else be?
Fix:
Start with a strong job brief. Be clear on responsibilities, outcomes, salary, and career progression. A good recruiter will challenge and refine this with you.
Final Thoughts
Recruitment doesn’t have to be frustrating. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can save time, hire better people, and create a more stable and productive team.
But you don’t have to do it alone.
✅ Let’s Get You Hiring Smarter
At Windmill9 Consulting, we live and breathe property recruitment. Whether you’re scaling up or replacing a key team member, we bring deep market insight, proven processes, and access to the best property talent — many of whom aren’t on job boards.
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Contact Us Today!
- 📞 Call: 0116 232 5181
- 📧 Email: contact@windmill9.uk
- 💻 Website: www.windmill9.uk
- Visit The Windmill9 LinkedIn Page
