Commercial Real Estate/Technology Firm Case Study

Organizational Development & Employee Retention

Market conditions and lack of internal processes caused a rapidly growing real estate research firm to experience high turnover rates. We developed a strategy to not only reduce turnover, but foster key leadership competencies necessary for continued growth.

The Challenge

High turnover rates often go hand-in- hand with rapid growth – even in establish companies. An international real estate informatics firm faced significant challenges with employee retention. The firm consistently hired a younger workforce, but offered no path for advancement which led to high turnover. Coupled with market conditions and a glaring lack of formal/informal processes, the firm was in a constant state of flux.

The Process

With a history of steady and significant growth, the firm realized the need for a stable workforce to allow for continued growth. We partnered with the organization to develop a formal approach to managing and growing key talent. In addition, we worked with the client to establish hiring practices that met both short-term demand and long- term strategic growth. We assessed the firm’s existing structure and worked with the senior leadership team to develop a better understanding of job roles and key competencies.

The Solution

We worked with the client to create an enterprise competency model and linked the competencies by level to each job within the organization, creating job maps that allowed employees to visualize their desired career path within the organization. These job maps also outlined the educational and experiential requirements for promotions. This allowed for accurate baseline assessments of all employees. The output of this assessment provided the client clear visibility to the current condition of its workforce and assisted them in addressing the existing gaps. In addition, we helped the client develop a leadership development effort for high potential employees. These employees are selectively identified by senior leadership to complete this high level training.

The Results

While the program is ongoing, the initial three-month results are promising. Employee turnover is noticeably reduced, collaboration has improved and employees report a higher level of satisfaction with their current job role and their future with the organization.