Real Estate Institute of Queensland
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) is the peak body representing real estate professionals across Queensland, providing training, advocacy and advice to nearly 30,000 members and clients. Their Brisbane-based team of approximately 30 supports these efforts.
The Challenge
The REIQ had established HR policies and processes, managed by the leadership team, but no dedicated HR role. They identified a need for someone to take ownership of the HR function - to manage daily HR tasks, stay up to date with compliance and provide impartial employee support. In addition, the leadership team wanted to move towards a more proactive HR approach, one that aligned with their business goals and reinforced their purpose-driven culture.
Our Solution
A strategic approach to gathering employee feedback
While REIQ had conducted employee surveys before, Davy Partners introduced a more strategic approach ensuring meaningful insights were gathered. By collaborating closely with the leadership team, Gemma identified key focus areas and tailored survey questions to capture the most relevant information.
Gemma, supported by the Davy Partners team, managed all aspects of the yearly project, from survey design to analysis and presenting key findings and recommendations to the senior leadership team.
Results were also shared transparently to the broader team, reinforcing a culture of openness and responsiveness. Most importantly, feedback has been turned into action, building strong trust over time. The team's survey data has consistently shown improvement year after year.
Becoming an extension of the team
After three years of partnership, Gemma and the Davy Partners team have become a trusted HR partner. This long-term involvement has allowed Gemma to develop a deep understanding of the business so she can provide tailored HR guidance that supports and strengthens the overall business goals.
In addition to remote support throughout the week, Gemma also spends one day per week at The REIQ office. This on-site presence allows for more informal check-ins with managers and employees, and the mix of regular structured meetings and casual support has made more HR visible and embedded in daily operations.
Developing a proactive HR strategy
As the leadership team developed their annual strategic plan, we recommended developing a HR strategy that incorporated employee feedback and aligned with business goals. This would ensure HR played a key role in supporting people and culture objectives. Gemma collaborated with the executive team to understand key priorities and challenges, following the process below:
- Aligning HR with business goals – Reviewing company strategy to define HR’s role in supporting key objectives.
- Incorporating employee insights – Using survey data and leadership discussions to identify workforce needs and challenges.
- Defining priorities & developing action plan – Setting clear priorities to achieve overall business goals and developing a practical action plan with defined initiatives, timelines, and success metrics to ensure effective execution.
- Engaging leadership & Board – Presenting for feedback to ensure alignment to overall strategy.
- Implementing and communicating – Rolling out initiatives in phases while keeping employees informed and engaged.
To maintain momentum, Gemma meets with the executive team fortnightly to review progress. This ongoing engagement allows for timely adjustments, keeping HR proactive and responsive.
Our impact
The addition of an outsourced HR support role has made a material impact on our business. It’s enabled us to develop a more focussed and structured approach to our People & Culture strategy and ensure this reflects current and modern day values and principles.
There are a multitude of benefits that come with an outsourced HR support role. Firstly, team members have access to a resource that is perceived to be more objective and independent over someone who resides permanently at the REIQ on a daily basis. The value of this is immeasurable. As an organisation, we also gain access to current benchmarking and insights into emerging trends and issues. Having access to this information and specialised knowledge is incredibly useful. - Antonia Mercorella, CEO REIQ
The Results
Since partnering with Davy Partners, HR has become an integrated part of The REIQ’s day-to-day operations. Having an outsourced HR manager has provided an impartial presence, ensuring any concerns are addressed quickly, leaders receive support, and the team feels supported.
Over the past three years, these improvements have been reflected in employee feedback surveys, with key themes highlighting that staff feel happy and engaged, and cross-departmental communication has improved. Strengthened HR processes and a proactive approach have led to fewer concerns, and a greater focus on strategy.
This shift has helped maintain a workplace culture where employees feel connected, engaged, and aligned with the organisation’s purpose.
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