Training investment reaps timely rewards

The Romans Group has a long-established commitment to staff training and development – an investment that helps employees enhance their skills for the benefit of customers.

Joanne Bloomfield
Group HR Director

But with its new Property Training programme, Romans has taken that commitment one step further. Instead of applying for a specific role, recruits to the programme spend months working in departments across the Group, gaining a thorough grounding in all aspects of the property market – from customer services to residential sales, lettings and more, both at Head Office and in the branches. And by taking the time to understand the aptitudes of every new recruit, Romans believes that the programme results in a win-win situation for everyone.

"People have different skills, different passions, different personalities," says Joanne Bloomfield, Group HR Director. "The great benefit of the Property Training programme is that it helps us to match new employees with the job that best suits them – for example, someone may turn out to be particularly well suited to lettings. By getting to know the new recruits and exposing them to different areas of the business, we can identify more precisely where their capabilities can deliver the most value to our customers – and provide our employees with greater job satisfaction too."

As a rolling recruitment scheme, between six to ten people are working through the programme at any one time – always starting in the Business & Customer Support division, based at Romans' Head Office in Wokingham. Recent recruits James Snowden and Andrew Lambert share their experiences:

"The Property Training programme was an excellent starting point for me, as I had never worked in the property industry," says Andrew, now a trainee sales negotiator at Romans' Farnborough branch. "It allowed me to understand not just the property market and how Romans worked as a company, but also which part of the business I would be best suited for – it has really helped me to gain insight and confidence in my abilities."

Having joined the programme with an interest in lettings, James discovered an aptitude for sales and is now a trainee negotiator too, based at the Wokingham branch. "I would encourage anyone considering a property career to start at Romans," James says. "I have many friends who work in estate agencies, and none of them have received the same grounding that I have."

"Our Property Training programme is an investment in the future," concludes Joanne. "It takes the time to understand and weave together the skills and ambitions of our staff with the needs of our business and customers. After all, when a customer comes to Romans, what do they want? Do they want someone who is not only qualified for the job, but who is also enthused, passionate, well suited to their role and enjoying what they do? Let's face it - motivated staff deliver a better service!"

For more details about the Property Training Scheme, please contact Joanne Bloomfield, Group HR Director – call 01344 753 210 or email hr@romans.co.uk.