Metropolitan Group, a leading real estate group in the UAE, was recognized as the tenth Best Workplaces™️ in 2022, marking the first time a real estate brokerage has made the list in the UAE. The official list, which was announced last night during an awards ceremony at Five Hotel, The Palm, in Dubai, is a ranking of the nation’s best employers based on the confidential feedback of employees and an audit of management practices.
Ibrahim Mougharbel, Managing Director for the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, Great Place to Work®️️ Middle East commented: “On behalf of Great Place to Work®️️ Middle East, we are very proud to announce that Metropolitan Group is the first Real Estate Brokerage in the UAE to be Great Place to Work®️-Certified! It is of no surprise that employees at this organization are seen to have a true appreciation for the organization’s management and proud to tell others they work for the Group. Metropolitan Group clearly has a solid view of where the organization is going and how to get there, and most importantly: they listen to what their employees have to say! On behalf of all of us at Great Place to Work®️️ Middle East, we are very proud of you for achieving this fantastic milestone!”
Following the COVID lockdown, Metropolitan’s management made it a priority to create an inclusive and supportive working environment, where employees would feel part of a larger, extended family. The group’s commitment to employee learning and culture has paid great dividends, achieving a 93% retention rate, which is well above industry standards.
Mike Fleet, Metropolitan’s Performance & Development Director said: “We are delighted with this achievement as it’s a great recognition of the hard work everyone has done to establish a top-class culture within the company. Learning, training, and agent support are a big part of who we are at Metropolitan, but many other factors have contributed to our success. We always celebrate company and individual success, have a rigorous process for the hiring of employees and provide regular incentives to reward agents. We are in the people business, as we grow, we will continue to be selective in bringing in agents who are not only successful but have the right attitude, personality and ambition to join our team.”
Metropolitan wanted to focus on Performance Support rather than traditional agent training. Relevant skills programs were created in-house with the most experienced agents and learning materials were developed based on high performer insights. A comprehensive new joiner induction experience was introduced supported by ongoing skills development, coaching and training. Metropolitan invested significantly in developing its Knowledge Base program with a wide range of useful performance support topics including selling skills, customer service skills and product knowledge agent packs. The company recently invested in the latest micro learning technology to provide bite-sized content for mobile phones, with great features like AI video, ensuring agents have easy access to content whenever they need it. The company also clocked up to 1,100 training hours in 2021.
This year, the company saw its Google review rating significantly improve from 4.1 to 4.9 and it achieved Gold Award status based on Feefo reviews from clients. Five Star reviews are now shared in real-time across the company to drive awareness and engagement towards the client experience. Metropolitan has also increased its listings in Dubai by 300% and by 150% in Abu Dhabi. The company also noticed that its business from referrals and repeat business represent about 20% of its transactions, a significant increase.
The Metropolitan Group in the UAE includes two full-service real estate agencies: Metropolitan Premium Properties (Dubai) and Metropolitan Capital Real Estate LLC (Abu Dhabi). The group also has Metropolitan Consulting FZE, a supporting company that provides personal and business legal services in the UAE.
How Great Place to Work®️ determines the Best Workplaces™️ in the UAE
Great Place to Work®️ is the global authority on workplace culture. It helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. It identifies Best Workplaces™️ in over 50 countries worldwide. Great Place to Work®️ identifies the Best Workplaces in the UAE by analyzing companies’ workplace programs and surveying employees across the region about the key factors that create great workplaces for ALL™️. To be considered, companies must first be certified as a Great Place to Work®️ and are based in the Gulf Region. A Culture Audit document must also be submitted for analysis which provided a more in-depth review of the workplace culture for the past year.
Details of the full list can be found at www.greatplacetowork.me.
