YOUR CAREER
with us
About haart...
We are part of Spicerhaart. Established in 1989, Spicerhaart is one of the UK’s most innovative estate agency groups, combining the largest independent residential sales and residential lettings branch network with a rapidly growing financial services and legal business. Most people know us through our high street estate agency brands – Darlows, haart, Haybrook, Felicity J Lord and Chewton Rose who between them have over 190 branches. We work together with thousands of customers every year, using multi award-winning marketing and leading smart technology to help buy, sell, let or rent property. We generate revenue in excess of £100 million. None of this would be possible without the drive, dedication and determination of the 1,500 plus people that we employ.
“As Managing Director of the largest independent Estate Agency in the UK, I am delighted to invite you to consider joining us. We believe that our people are the most valuable asset of our business which remains one of the most innovative and forward thinking Estate Agencies in the UK. You have the opportunity of joining our success and becoming one of our rising stars.�
Russell Jervis Managing Director, Estate Agency
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Our core beliefs
Family
We work together as a family for the benefit of the whole. We communicate freely, are open, honest and passionate about what we do.
Customer Obsession
We are obsessed with delivering an industry leading service both internally and externally.
Independence through Profitability
We value our independence which is maintained by generating profits sufficient to invest in our business and reward our stakeholders.
High Performance Culture
Together we aspire to the highest professional standards in our industry. We will develop our people to fulfil their potential, have a winning mindset and achieve our standards of behaviour and performance. Profitable market share is our mantra.
Reputation
Our reputation is built on our high standards of honesty, integrity and professionalism, which we seek to apply in everything we do.
Continuous Improvement
We strive to continuously improve and have a thirst for enterprise and innovation.
Respect
We treat everyone as an individual; we care about each other, our partners and our communities.
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Everyone at haart is encouraged to perform to the highest professional standards and exceed our clients’ expectations by delivering a first class service. These professional credentials are demonstrated by our membership of The Property Ombudsman.
Working in estate agency is hard work; you’ll need to be determined and resilient. It’s a highly competitive industry which demands constant innovation to stay ahead of the game. In short, it’s a challenge. It is also highly rewarding, enjoyable and a lot of fun. We don’t sell people anything they don’t want. We help people and that provides great job satisfaction.
Whilst the market is always challenging, we are meeting that challenge and have ambitious plans for expansion and growth. We provide a complete sales service and pride ourselves on offering a first class customer experience unrivalled by any of our competitors.
We have an exceptional training and development programme and your career progression is structured and defined from day one.
Our family Residential Lettings Financial Services Land and New Homes Legal Services Property Surveying Services Corporate Sales
As a part of Spicerhaart we are always looking to support the other areas of our business in their growth, development and business success: as they do for us. We assist and refer potential customers whenever possible and in turn we receive referrals for our business. Together we are a family and together we will be better, stronger and more successful.
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Driving business
We strive to generate new business; being instructed on more properties in order to advertise and sell more properties. A typical day • The day starts with a morning meeting to review yesterday’s performance and set targets for the day. Your Branch Manager will use this time to provide guidance and motivate the team to ensure that the daily target is achieved. Immediately after the meeting you will have a personal 1 to 1 to review your progress and agree specific tasks for the day.
haart support • Our ‘Nexus’ team based in head office provide new business generation striving to gain your office new properties to sell. In addition they assist with out of hours phone calls allowing for extended opening hours, so you do not miss any business opportunities. These ground breaking practices provide a vital competitive advantage in this fast paced and challenging sales industry.
• Throughout each day you will be registering applicants, listening to their requirements, booking and carrying out viewings at suitable properties.
• Our Administration Centre at head office assist with your administration and sales progression.
• Regular price-related feedback to vendors will ensure that properties never go stale on the market. • Daily canvassing and prospecting will generate valuations and new properties to sell.
• We are always looking for new and innovative ways to ensure that our properties have maximum exposure; we have smartphone apps, advertise on all the most popular property websites and are on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
• Submit your ideas on how we can gain new business, improve our efficiency or anything you believe will make a positive difference to our company to: sales.suggestions@ spicerhaart.co.uk and be eligible to receive a reward if your suggestion is put into practice.
We pro actively generate business and there is nothing more satisfying than booking a market appraisal, winning the instruction and finding a suitable buyer, all in the same day.
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Recognition and reward
We reward great performance and celebrate success. This is achieved by regularly reporting results and publishing league tables so that you can compare your performance to that of your peers. We create a competitive environment that promotes a culture of excellence and drives people to greater success. Some of the ways we recognise achievements are:
Regular incentive competitions Apex reward scheme Regional awards evenings Annual company conference Annual Company Conference 2012
Annual Company Conference 2013
Annual Company Conference 2014
Miami Incentive Winners 2013
Take That Ticket Incentive
Miami Incentive Winners 2013
Apex Scheme, Audi Prize, 2014
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Life with haart “I joined haart of Bury St Edmunds around 10 years ago, having worked in the industry before for both a national and local agent. What I loved was from day one was the way I was made to feel welcome by the whole team, and how impressed I was that both the team and individuals had very clear goals, targets and fantastic rewards to aim for. I work with a great team and together this has allowed me the opportunity to strive for success, resulting in me being crowned top Lister in the company for the last 4 years; my performance has been widely recognised and with this has come invitations to amazing once in a lifetime trips to Las Vegas, Miami, Prague and London to name a few. I can honestly say that coming to work every day is a pleasure and I love being part of the Spicerhaart family. More recently my efforts have been rewarded by way of a promotion to Assistant Branch Manager.” Justine Hoy Assistant Branch Manager, Bury St Edmunds
“I was always interested in getting into a career within Estate Agency after completing my A-Levels and choosing to not go to university. I began as a Trainee Negotiator in Luton at the beginning of 2010 with no previous experience, and immediately felt the company invested a lot of time and effort into ensuring that the knowledge and training I required to settle into the industry was delivered to the highest standards. My Branch Manager at the time, spent much of his working day aiding me with the various skills to allow me to develop as an individual. The outstanding support from the Branch and the company saw me progress up the career ladder and in September 2012 I was delighted to be appointed Branch Manager of the busy Leagrave office. Even as a Branch Manager my development and training doesn’t stop, with continuous support from training managers and courses that are run throughout the year as the company continues to evolve and adapt the marketing that it offers Although haart is a large nationwide company, I love how it remains very open and honest about all aspects of its business. This really gives me the feeling that I work for a company that pushes a ‘one team’ ethic, and truly values its staff. The senior management are incredibly inspirational in their operations and support, frequently arranging excellent team nights and quarterly awards evenings held at various venues to appreciate and recognise exceptional performances and driving healthy competition between branches to perform to the best of their abilities. I am truly thankful to haart and the people that I work with for helping me settle into my career and prosper to a management position at such a young age. A lot of my peers who are now graduating from university are rather envious of what haart has helped me achieve in such a short space of time!”
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Adam Yusuf Branch Manager, Leagrave
“I started in the Newport haart ‘super branch’ on the 1st of July 2013 as a Trainee Negotiator after completing a four year BSc Degree in Mathematics at Cardiff University. I always wanted to get into the industry and was initially impressed by the professional image of the haart brand, its new look office and its outstanding marketing. I was excited to hear I had successfully secured the position ahead of over 50 applicants at the recruitment evening. The support and training I have been given has filled me with so much confidence in my new role. The first 6 months have flown by, and I thoroughly enjoy the challenges of working in a fast paced and rewarding environment. Each day provides fresh challenges and variety whether I am canvassing and prospecting for new business to build our market share, or persuading applicants to view properties and make offers. In my short time with haart I have learnt many new skills which I have been able to put to good use when accompanying viewings, talking to vendors, negotiating offers, or discussing the benefits of using our market leading financial services and conveyancing services. Charlotte Harrison Negotiator, Newport
My achievements in my first six months have been recognised and I have recently won tickets to the a major Rugby international and I am looking forward to attending the forthcoming awards ceremony. I feel that I have a long exciting and rewarding career ahead of me with haart.”
“Having joined the company in the summer of 2004 I have been on an eventful and exciting ride with Spicerhaart. Having a sales orientated background working in the furniture and carpet sales industry I came to work on the first day with a feeling that I have found a profession that would suit, reward and excite me. Starting as a negotiator I was quickly enrolled on the listers training course with Mike Graham and after the two day course I knew being a lister was what I wanted to do. In 2005 I got the opportunity to go out and list and never looked back. At the time, the market was growing and having seen the benefits of the other lister, holidays to New York and a brand new car, this was an opportunity I wanted and was going to make the most of. I was rewarded for ‘excellent listings performance with a company’ and with this gained a place on the organised trip to Barcelona which was a fantastic experience. My proudest moment was finishing second in 2008 in the listers money banked category with £497,000. That meant I got to go up on stage at the end of year awards held at ‘The Brewery’ to collect an award from Managing Director Russell Jervis.
James Tingley Branch Valuer, Wisbech
I have always enjoyed working in the community representing the Spicerhaart family and events I have been part of include sponsoring Wisbech Town Football club and sponsoring a local primary school Christmas fete. In recent years I have undertaken the Spicerhaart management training course, qualified for a star car which resulted in a high specification Audi A3 Sportback and been back to ‘The Brewery’ and ‘The Crown Plaza’ on two separate occasions. Approaching 10 years with the company I have always worked in the Wisbech branch and helped both the March and Peterborough offices valuing when needed. Working with an established team for many years is the key to our success and I’m looking forward to the next 10 years working with great people in a successful environment.” 07
Your career path
Your career is important to us and we always aim to promote from within. We aim to attract and recruit the highest calibre individuals who receive an industry-leading training and development programme. In this environment, our people are able to realise their potential and achieve success. Many of our senior management team started in entry level positions and have progressed through a structured career path.
Trainee/Junior Negotiator
Branch Manager
Negotiator
Senior Branch Manager
Senior Negotiator
Branch Partner
Valuer
Area Sales Manager
Sales Manager/Sales Executive/ Assistant Branch Manager
Divisional Sales Director
Your attitude is the vital ingredient At haart your attitude will determine how successful you can be. Our top performers understand that success is a choice and they choose to be successful time and time again. We are looking for people who are: • Positive and proactive with a ‘can do’ attitude
• Organised, disciplined, hard working and resilient
• Great communicators who enjoy working with people
• Focused on providing exceptional customer service and maintaining the highest professional standards at all times
• Resourceful and able to work on their own initiative
Do you have the drive, determination and desire to succeed in a career with us?
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Training and Helping you to succeed development Training begins on your very first day.
In your first few weeks you will attend our comprehensive induction programme which is designed to introduce you to haart and give you the knowledge you need to succeed in your new role.
Training and development programme On joining you will receive a Training & Development Programme (TDP); a document designed to guide you through all the development steps of your career and maintain a record of your progression in these steps. Your training and development will be a combination of classroom based learning with our Training and Development team, self-learning and in-branch learning with your manager and colleagues. Your TDP is a comprehensive plan that will lay the foundations for a successful career.
Your development will never cease Training and development is ongoing as you progress through our structured career path. Senior Negotiators and Assistant Managers are invited to join our Management Preparation Programme. This gives you the tools you need to succeed in branch management. As a Branch Manager you will then be eligible for the Management Development Programme. This builds on your existing knowledge to enhance your management abilities and help you maximise the performance and efficiency of your team. Successful Branch Managers will be invited to attend our Senior Management Development Programme in preparation for Area Management.
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Community
We believe that our business has a responsibility to invest in the local community. We undertake a variety of activities from supporting local school events and charitable fetes to sponsoring local youth and professional football teams. It’s part of our ethos to give something back to the communities in which we live and work.
All employees actively support Magic Moments Children’s Charity. It was founded in 1998 and is dedicated to helping families with children who are suffering life limiting illnesses. The charity has raised more than £1,000,000 to support children’s hospices across the UK and enables Magic Moments to make dreams come true for youngsters and their families.
Over the years the charity has taken hundreds of seriously ill children and their families to Lapland to see Santa and to Disneyland Paris. In addition to individual fundraising, we hold various events every year including quizzes, Dragon Boat racing, charity balls and more.
Local Fundraising
Dragon Boat Race, 2014
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Disneyland Paris, 2012
Disneyland Paris, 2013
Final word
We believe that the recruitment process is very much a two way street. We want to ensure that you are presented with the very best opportunity to learn as much about our company, the people and the culture so that you can make an informed decision. We have created some space below for you to make a note of any questions you would like to ask at your interview.
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Head Office: Colwyn House Sheepen Place Colchester Essex, CO3 3LD T: 01206 765 599 F: 01206 578 342 V0414
haart.co.uk