Good Afternoon —
In last week's newsletter I discussed smaller title companies and their long-term goals, whether that's expansion or acquisition, and I got some great responses. One of the best, however, came from Trey Barrowman, who is a title agent for a small regional title company based in the Cincinnati area.
"I see a goal that has remained consistent throughout these almost 35 years: real estate is local, and it is beneficial — if not crucial — that your title company is as well," Barrowman said in an email. "We hire local, pay competitively, and remain a part of our community through relationships with Realtors, loan officers, buyers, sellers, local investors, chambers of commerce, and other such community organizations. We ultimately want to provide security to our community with efficient, secure, and strong real estate transactions and attempt to press toward that goal with each decision we make.
"Because of that, we have made decisions which make sense only with that goal in mind. We attempt to hire right, keep our team together, and train them well. It is our people that give us our greatest strength."
What really struck me in Barrowman's response was the pivotal role the local talent his firm hires plays in its overall success.
Across the title industry, it is no secret that there is a talent crunch. Back in November, American Land Title Association CEO Diane Tomb told me: "This is the top issue. This is what keeps people up at night and the pandemic has only made things more complicated. Almost 21% of our workforce is within 10 years of retirement."
While some firms have turned to internship programs and educational seminars, others have turned to Tik Tok to find new candidates, but regardless of strategy, firms say that it is hard to recruit in a field many people do not understand or haven't even heard of.
So, I want to hear from you. How did you end up in the title industry? What is your take on the industry's talent crunch and what are some of the strategies your firm is using to recruit new talent?
Until next week,
Brooklee Han
Real Estate Reporter
bhan@housingwire.com
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