Talent Management Strategies for CRE: Key Needs for a Winning Strategy

Why Does Talent Management Matter in CRE?

Talent management is best described as working with employees who have desirable skills and nurturing their growth as they advance in their careers. Talent management acknowledges that an organization’s leaders values their employees and sets them up for success. This includes rewarding them for their achievements and improving the organization’s operations based on employee feedback.

Talent management isn’t unique to CRE, but it is important. In CRE, you’re looking to attract, develop, and retain the top industry talent. The reasons why talent management is important in CRE are:

1. Keeping your workforce skills relevant to the current market climate
2. Improving customer satisfaction
3. Maintaining an edge over the competition
4. Attracting higher-quality talent
5. Offering higher growth potential.

You’ll start to see that talent management in CRE goes beyond just keeping your people happy. It’s about supporting them to over perform and demonstrating to potential hires that your organization is a strategic career choice.

“Talent management is a big deal in CRE because, honestly, the industry runs on people,” Brittany Acosta, a senior corporate recruiter at Bisnow and Select Leaders, said. “You can have the best assets or portfolio, but if you don’t have the right people in place — leasing, asset management, acquisitions, operations — it’s hard to execute well or grow.”

Brittany added that there is a difference when it comes to large versus small firms. Talent management is equally important regardless of firm size. Big firms, however, tend to have systems in place — leadership development, succession planning, training programs — because they have the infrastructure to support it. Smaller companies might not have all that structure, but every single hire makes an impact.

“One great person can really move the needle,” Brittany said.

Talent management vs. talent development

Talent management: Hiring staff with the right skill sets, nurturing their talent growth by rewarding better performance, and improving existing operations around staff.

Talent development: Mentoring employees and providing tools to advance their talent and skills to develop a more effective workforce.

These two strategies are related but not entirely the same. A talent management strategy is a larger initiative that encompasses the hiring process, feedback for your employees, and optimizing your operation. While part of this strategy could include talent development, it doesn’t necessarily assume that you need to give your employees mentorship.

How you craft your talent strategy will depend on the resources that your CRE organization has at its disposal and what your current workforce needs. A CRE startup, for example, may not have as many resources to invest in talent development and mentorship. However, a startup will still need to nurture the growth of their existing talent.

Emerging trends and talent management

Talent management can help future-proofs your organization around evolving market dynamics. New technology, trends in remote work, and sudden economic shifts can impact the hiring process and employee retention. A sudden change in the CRE market may reduce the amount of talent with a specific skill. Or, it may suddenly create a new employee expectation that your organization isn’t currently implementing it. Artificial intelligence is a great example of recent trends that are impacting not only hiring and talent management trends, but also day-to-day operations.

With an existing talent management structure, your organization is ready and equipped to adapt to these sudden shifts. If there is a shift, your CRE firm will have a competitive edge in employee retention with demonstrable evidence of how you’re supporting employees.

Talent Management Functions

Key components of a talent management framework are:

1. Workforce planning: Identifying future talent needs
2. Talent acquisition: Recruiting top professionals in CRE
3. Performance management: Evaluating and optimizing employee contributions
4. Employee engagement & retention: Ensuring job satisfaction and long-term commitment
5. Succession planning: Preparing for leadership transitions
6. Employer branding: Optimizing how your company shows up in the talent marketplace
7. Diversity, equity and inclusion: Not only hiring for DEI, but also creating an inclusive environment where people want to stay and grow

Winning Talent Management Approaches for 2025 in CRE

1. Data-driven hiring: Using AI and analytics to find the best talent
2. Employer branding: Showcasing company culture, values, and benefits
3. Flexible work models: Offering hybrid/remote options where possible
4. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives: Prioritizing inclusive hiring and career advancement
5. Competitive compensation and benefits: Ensuring salaries, bonuses, and perks align with market trends
6. Prop-tech integration: Leveraging technology to enhance talent acquisition and training
7. Employee well-being programs: Promoting work-life balance and mental health resources
8. Speed to hire: Streamlining your hiring process so you don’t lose highly qualified prospects

Regarding speed to hire, Brittany Acosta added, “Speed to hire isn’t flashy, but it’s critical. Candidates expect fast, respectful, streamlined hiring processes. If your process drags out, the best people will walk — even if your offer is great.”

She said these are the three most important factors that candidates are looking for:

1. Growth potential
2. Flexibility
3. Company culture and leadership style

“I’ve seen smaller CRE firms win top talent from big-name competitors, not because they offered higher salaries, but because they sold a vision: more exposure to deals, more decision-making input, and a clear path to VP or partner-level positions,” Brittany added.

Should You Adopt a Talent Management Strategy?

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If you want to know more about how developing a talent management strategy can help your organization, check out this McKinsey study.

The study found that 99 percent of respondents reported their talent management strategy has been effective in improving overall business performance. When implementing a talent management strategy, the three practices that are most closely linked with effective talent management, according to the study, are:

1. Rapid allocation of talent: Allocating talent based on strategic priorities arising and dissolving
2. HR’s involvement in employee experience: Human resources staff facilitating a positive employee relationship that can respond to new employee trends and needs
3. Strategically minded HR team: Understanding the organization’s current strategy and priorities and aligning those with candidates’ goals

With the findings from this study, we can start to see how implementing a talent management strategy is a total organizational shift. This can be right, or wrong, for your company depending on the timing and where the company's priorities currently are. During a busy season, it may be difficult to adopt a talent management strategy. However, if you’re struggling with employee retention, a better talent management strategy may be at the core of the issue.