Work Ethics in the Property Industry
By Howard Morgan
Howard Morgan is Managing Director of customer service specialist, RealService, and a business speaker at JABE's Money & Morals Roadshows.
Property magnates: dust off moral compass to help new generation
Do you remember the winner of The Apprentice who lied on his CV, but still won the job with Sir Alan?
I recently took part in a Money & Morals Roadshow, organised by the Jewish Association for Business Ethics (JABE) with a group of sixth formers and heard from many of them that it was OK to do the same - after all, the practice had been endorsed on TV.
Why do I mention this? I've been thinking a lot about ethics and the property industry since reading an article in Property Week which lifted the lid on the practice of investment advisers that act for both vendor and purchaser.
One of my biggest concerns about this practice is the signal that it gives young people coming into our industry. From where do they take their direction? Will it be the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), with its nine core values that include "acting with integrity" and "being open and transparent in your dealings", or will it be from the senior managers with whom they work day to day?
My guess is that, like the sixth formers, they are more likely to be influenced by the behaviour of a high-flying role model at work, rather than a moral or ethical code published by the RICS.
This means that those who have reached a position of influence in the industry need to take care to ensure that the next generation of surveyors has a clear moral compass. My fundamental concern is that by turning a blind eye to practices such as double dealing, we are, in fact, giving the thumbs-up to unethical practice.
Business ethics has been described as the attempt to resolve the conflict between selfishness and selflessness, and between our material needs and our conscience. I strongly believe that the property industry must develop a set of ethical norms to guide its behaviour and help young people deal with the pressures on business today. These norms need to be debated, challenged and understood. I accept that there are many pressures on business today, but do not believe this is a reason to put ethical behaviour to the bottom of the agenda.
I recently spoke with a leading investment agent who told me a string of stories about the ways in which he believes "certain firms" are crossing the boundary between selflessness to selfishness. An example, in addition to acting for both sides, includes a subsector of the investment market where he believes deals are being shared out amongst a small group of agents. Another questionable practice he cited relates to the use of privileged information to obtain introductions.
The property management sector has not escaped the trend either. Stories circulate about "certain managing agents" who bolster fees by charging suppliers to join their approved contractor list or through pocketing insurance commissions.
My fear is that we are seeing an increasing erosion of the fundamental principles that have underpinned the reputation of our industry. Therefore, I suggest it is time to develop a Money & Morals Roadshow for the property industry that will reach the young surveyors who are tomorrow's business leaders. We must ensure that the self-interest, misdirected bonus culture, and ineffective management controls that brought down Enron do not bring down our industry's reputation too.
