University of Dhaka

EM 546: Strategic Human Resource Management

Term Paper

“SHRM Response to Deal with Post Pandemic

Situation: The Case of Real Estate Industry”

Submitted By:

Name ID

Mohammad Sayedur Rahman 3-19-41-020

S.M. Tanvir Khalid 3-19-41-026

Khadiza Tasnuva Nabila 3-19-41-028

Mahmudul Hasan Tonmoy 3-19-41-050

Rafi Ahmed Rafsan 3-19-41-068

Submitted To:
Dr. Md. Mesbah Uddin
Associate Professor

Department of Management

Faculty of Business Studies

Submission Date: 28th July, 2020

 Letter of Transmittal

28 July, 2020

Dr. Md. Mesbah Uddin

Associate Professor

Department of Management

University of Dhaka.

Subject: Submission of Assignment on “SHRM response to deal with the post pandemic situation: The
case of Real Estate Industry”.

Honorable Sir,

With great pleasure we are presenting our term paper on “SHRM response to deal with the post pandemic
situation: The case of Real Estate Industry”. While preparing this report, we have followed your instruction
and guidelines.

We express our special gratitude to you for dedicating your valuable time, expert guidance and support. We
have tried our best to complete the assignment appropriately as much as possible. We will be pleased to
answer any sort of query you may have regarding this term paper.

Sincerely,

Mahmudul Hasan Tonmoy

ID: 3-19-41-050

On behalf of my group members

 Acknowledgement

At the beginning we are very much grateful to the Almighty for giving us the strength to complete the term
paper properly. Without his diving blessings, it would never be possible for us to complete this term paper
successfully.

We are also very thankful to our family members and our friends who have also helped us to complete this
term paper.

We convey our sincere gratitude to our Course instructor, Dr. Md. Mesbah Uddin, Associate Professor,
Department of Management, University of Dhaka. Without his kind direction and proper guidance this term
paper would have been a little success. His guidance shaped this entire paper in every stages to be completed
successfully.
 Table of Contents
Serial Contents Page No.
No.
Executive Summary 1
1 Chapter One: Introduction 2
1.1 Introduction 2
1.1.1 Origin of the report 3
1.1.2 Objectives of the study 3
1.1.2.1 General Objective 3
1.1.2.2 Specific Objective 3
1.1.3 Scope of the study 3
1.1.4 Methodology 3
1.1.5 Limitations of the study 4
2 Chapter Two: Real Estate Industry 4
2.1 Real estate industry in Bangladesh 4
2.2 Global market size of real estate 4
2.2.1 Global market size in 2016 5
2.2.2 Global market size in 2019 5
2.3 Real estate’s relation with stocks, shares and bonds 5
3 Chapter Three: Real Estate During Pandemic 6
3.1 Real estate’s current condition 6
3.2 Predictions for Real Estate after the pandemic 6
3.3 Strategies Real Estate Developers can adapt 7
3.4 SHRM Suggestion for pandemic situation 8
3.5 SHRM Suggestion for post pandemic situation 10
4 Chapter Four: Conclusion 11
4.1 Conclusion 11
5 Chapter Five: References 12
5.1 References 12
 Executive Summary

The Covid-19 pandemic and shutdown are likely to cause unprecedented recessions everywhere. There are
likely to be long-term consequences from the crisis including loss of output, labor-market scarring and a
lower long-term equilibrium rate.

Global real estate returns are expected to be adversely affected as a result of the current crisis. The impact is
likely to be uneven with some sectors worse affected than others. The global listed real estate markets have
so far been a useful barometer of what to expect.

Real Estate is an industry which deals with a lot of people interactions. Some suggestions to reduce the
infection rate among employees and customers are discussed here.

After the pandemic is over the situation will change drastically from what it used to be. Suggestions on how
to handle the new circumstance and use it to the companies benefits are also given in this term paper.

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 Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Real estate sector is considered as one of the key indicators of the development of any economy. Real
estate or housing is one of the industries that fall under infrastructural development. Over the years, this
sector has shown promising growth with the expected ups and downs over the time. This is usually expected
from any industry.

Few factors drive the growth of real estate sector such as the price of the properties, interest rates, the
demand for the properties, changes in demographics, urbanization etc. Again, this industry drives the growth
of several others like cement, steel, tiles, sanitary ware, glass and other building materials. Growth in this
sector creates a ripple effect on the others as demands of such products increase automatically. Moreover,
once they do, it not only just contributes to consumption rather increase employment, disposable income,
purchase capacity and ultimately contribute in our GDP per capita.
But due to Covid-19, real estate industry is now facing tremendous negative consequences. As industry is
shutdown, decrease in import and export made people emerge into economic disruption.

When people have less money, they will not think of building a new home. Without collateral, bank will not
give home loan. So, the real estate industry can now hope that, situation will get better and world economy
will run at full strength.

1.1.1Origin of the report

Real estate is a very large asset class by value. For some people, their real estate serves not only as their
home but also a repository of their life savings too. For them, their home is used not only as shelter but also
as a bastion against poverty in old age, a legacy for their children and collateral which they can use for a
variety of fund-raising purposes.

For the more adventurous investors and older people who are able to buy, either by leveraging existing
assets or who have cash to spend, real estate is often an investment of choice. Both residential and
commercial properties have come into focus as a potentially rewarding source of income and capital growth.
Those considering purchase will be interested in the performance and prospects for global real estate.

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1.1.2Objectives of the study

Real estate market development and acquisition of real estate market as a whole is substantially associated
with the purchasing power of the population, income splitting, formation of social strata in the course of
time, and other issues, which are of great importance for the formation of economic thought.

The increase of population directly influences the development of real estate market, construction activities,
real estate prices and housing affordability in general. Housing affordability has an important role from
social aspect as it influences many inhabitants of the country.

Covid-19 has hit real estate industry in such a way that above factors can even stimulate the daily operation
of the industry. Indeed, the pandemic is a greater challenge for real estate worldwide.

1.1.2.1 General Objective

In this assignment, our main objective is to learn about the impact of global real estate industry due to the
pandemic. We will try to learn in a global perspective because it will give us a big insight about the real
estate industry’s condition by being hit by covid-19 pandemic. In this report we will try to find out what
needs to be done in real estate industry during pandemic and what are the steps to be taken after pandemic.

1.1.2.2 Specific Objective

1. To learn about the Importance of real estate industry.

2. To find out the condition of global real estate industry during pandemic.
3. To find out what are the steps need to be taken by real estate industry after pandemic.

1.1.3 Scope of the study

This assignment will help to learn about the obstacles and uncertainty the real estate industry is facing due to
covid-19 pandemic. The study will give us an insight about the real life experience about how real estate
industry is struggling in 2020.

1.1.4 Methodology

This part of the assignment contains which data sources we have used to gather all the related of the topic
“SHRM response to deal with the post pandemic situation: The case of Real Estate Industry”. For this
assignment we have only used secondary data.

The source of secondary Data is:

➢ Online newspapers
➢ Online articles
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 ➢ Online magazines.

1.1.5 Limitations of the study

While preparing this assignment, we have faced following limitations:

➢ Current Pandemic
➢ Lack of time
➢ Lack of facility to meet officials
➢ Lack of secondary data.

Chapter Two

Real Estate Industry

2.1 Real estate industry in Bangladesh

Over the last 40 years, real estate sector played a significant role in shaping the Bangladesh economy.
During this time we saw robust urbanization and growth of our population. As a consequence, our country
had to provide additional housing solution to them. According to REHAB, in 2014, this sector contributed
12% of the GDP compared to the previous year of 7.04%. Additionally, REHAB data also shows that in
2016, the number of unsold flats came down to around 27,100 from 35,000. This indicates in that period,
people had more demand and increase in purchase capacity. This ultimately led to more purchasing of flats.
As people reinvest the money taken from the market, it boosts the economy and increases the contribution of
this sector in the GDP of our country.

According to UN, 40% of the people in our country were forecasted to be urbanized by 2020. More
urbanization means more demand for shelter. This ultimately leads to more demand for real estates in that
given amount of time. Moreover, there are changes in demography as well since this influx of population
shows a tendency to form nuclear families rather than conventional joint families. Hence, this might create a
multiplier effect on the factor mentioned above.

2.2 Global market size of real estate

In this section, we will see the global market size of real estate industry. From various sources, we have
managed to gather some information about 2016 and 2019’s real estate industry’s global market size.

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2.2.1 Global market size in 2016

An asset class worth $228 trillion Real estate is the world’s most important asset class, with a value totaling
$228 trillion at the end of 2016. This was an increase of 5% over 2015.In advanced economies; real estate is
a big part of personal and household wealth. It has risen significantly in value since the global financial
crisis. Along with other assets like commodities, equities and bonds, real estate has performed well in a low
interest rate environment. Its income-generating capability (rents) makes it attractive when compared to the
interest rates available from most bonds or deposit accounts.

2.2.2 Global market size in 2019

The size of the professionally managed global real estate investment market increased from $8.9 trillion in
2018 to $9.6 trillion in 2019. Currency movements had marginal impact as compared to last year. Currency
movements marginally impacted the size of the global real estate investment market by approximately
+0.1% in US Dollars (USD), in contrast to the negative impact in 2018 (-2.6%). Asset value growth and
transaction activity of already existing portfolios, newly identified portfolios and new developments in the
market, such as new construction and sale and leaseback transactions, also contributed to the growth in
market size.

China continues to be the fourth-largest market for the second consecutive year. China ranked as the fourth-
largest national market, behind United States, Japan and United Kingdom for the second consecutive year
having overtaken Germany in 2018.

2.3 Real estate’s relation with stocks, shares and bonds

Global real estate is a more valuable asset class than all stocks, shares and bonds combined, which together
amounted to a mere $170 trillion in 2016. The value of all gold ever mined throughout history paled in
comparison at only $6.5 trillion.

World GDP (at constant prices) grew by 2.3% between 2015 and 2016 to $74.6 trillion, so the world’s real
estate asset values have grown faster than all its production. The world now owns real estate assets worth
more than three times the value of its overall annual output of goods and services.

Since most of the world’s households are homeowners, only an estimated 34% of global residential
property is ‘investable’. That is, capable of being let to occupants and traded between investors.

Residential property markets in most countries and territories have seen capital growth over recent decades,
often in excess of local income growth, meaning that new homeowners are paying more for housing as a
multiple of their income. It is estimated that total global residential real estate value rose by 5% in 2016.

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 Chapter Three

Real Estate during Pandemic

3.1 Real estate’s current condition

The unexpected pandemic, however caught many promissory-buyers in their countries of origin, unable to
move out-of-borders and sometimes with difficulties at home in conducting business and perform deeds
there, where they are. And here, it must be said, the measures enacted for prophylactic contention have
resulted in a visible reduction in the responsiveness of banks.

The problem is all the more serious since it is known that many promissory contracts are concluded in a
chained manner, that is, the promissory-seller of one contract is in turn the promissory-buyer of another and
needs the liquidity resulting from the sale that he would hope to finance the acquisition he had promised.

Buying a home under any circumstances can be stressful at the moment. But with some buyers looking to
improve their lives during the pandemic and others trying to flee congested cities for greater space in the
suburbs, the rush to move could cause unexpected problems. Companies are coming up with creative ways
to help ease the process.

A variety of pandemic-related forces have caused construction costs to decline slightly for the first time in a
decade, which could lead contractors to feel a pinch in profits.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, any average construction firm leader is more concerned about
demand for their services than any other consideration, including skilled worker shortages.

This means that there are more companies than usual bidding on each available project, which tends to drive
construction prices lower.

Trade contractor competition has increased in many areas as they work to secure backlog due to uncertainty
they have about future opportunities.

3.2 Predictions for Real Estate after the pandemic

It’s no secret that the real estate market has a long road of recovery ahead. Agents and others in the industry
have started to look to the future and make predictions about the lingering effects the COVID-19 pandemic
will have on the industry. Here are the top five top predictions for real estate once the pandemic subsides.

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 ➢ Buyers will upsize: They think that the desire for larger apartments will come back into style and
many will be looking to size up, whether sizing up in square footage, light, outdoor space, view, or
amenities.
➢ Outdoor space and home offices will become a hot commodity: Balconies, terraces and private
roof decks are already prized amenities for any prospective buyer, but they will become even more in
demand in the coming months. Being stuck inside, people may realize what is important to them in a
home and in their space. People will consider what it would be like to reside in this space without
being able to leave now. Outdoor space may become more important. Home office space will also
become a more standard offering.
➢ Construction prices will rise: Before the pandemic, the construction industry was already facing a
shortage of skilled workers, with many professionals leaving during the Great Recession and
construction booming across the country.
➢ When the moratorium on construction ends and builders are ready to get back to work, we can expect
delays in the permitting process and increased costs as the supply chain slowly recovers and
superintendents get up to speed on how to keep workers safe.
➢ The supply chain will shift: More than 30 percent of construction materials come from countries
such as China, Italy, Brazil and India, which are facing their own challenges with COVID-19. So, the
owners will now look for other suppliers to reduce future risks.

3.3 Strategies Real Estate Developers can adapt

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the real estate industry pretty adversely. Majority of the construction
workers are the certain skilled workers. Due to the difficult situations many of these specific single skilled
workers have moved towards their own shelters and there is a less possibility of their return any time soon.
Therefore, the Developers are experiencing a shortage of construction workers all around the world. On the
other hand, many of their customers have experienced economic challenges, which have slowed down the
flow of funds towards the developers. This has resulted in delayed payments to material suppliers and
contractors. Also, the banks are experiencing an increase in the numbers of Non-Performing Loan.
Altogether the whole real estate eco-system has been affected very negatively. In this situation, we will
discuss some of the following strategies which may help the real estate owner’s to regain stability.

➢ Virtual Tours: People are avoiding going out and construction sites are no exception. A virtual Site
tour is a much better option to adopt, in order to generate the interest in buyer’s mind, without the
need of leaving his/her home. This can be easily set up online and can be embedded to the website.
The new technologies like AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) are empowering the
platforms even more.

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 ➢ Digitization of Documents: Verification of documents is a very important part of any property
buying. Mostly the real estate developers were used to provide the hard copies of their property
documents and restricted the reach to the public. But digitalizing the documents and sharing the
relevant documents to the public online will not only increase the transparency but also will increase
the credibility of the project. The customers will be more confident to buy the product even if they
are far away.
➢ Safe Management: Safety of the workers from the virus is too important in the current situation.
First of all, a positive case at the site may completely shut down the work for some days by the local
authorities. Secondly, it will create a panic among the workers and decrease the effectiveness of the
work. Therefore, it is essential for real estate owner’s to take precautions like ensuring every worker
wears a mask, encouraging workers to keep a distance from each other, washing hands etc. This will
not only maintain the workers safe but also will create a sense of assurance in their minds.
➢ Robust Construction Management: This is a challenging time to manage the construction progress
with limited human resources and uncertainty in the fund and material supply. Developers can focus
on reducing wastes and utilizing the most from the available resources. Work allocation of the
workers is also essential. With limited workers, real estate developers need to be accurately
allocating tasks to avoid delay and reworks. If required, they can involve the buyer in the process and
take his inputs at regular intervals to avoid reworks at the finishing stage.
➢ Restructuring Procurement Strategy: Another big challenge is to procure materials for
construction. Due to travel restrictions, many manufacturers are unable to deliver the materials at the
scheduled time. Also, many manufacturers have even shut down their workshops due to several
reasons. So a big task for the real estate developers is to select the right companies, vendors and
suppliers who have the availability of the materials and even can deliver at the scheduled time.

3.4 SHRM Suggestions for Pandemic Situation

The Covid-19 virus is highly infectious. But its symptoms tend to be mild. As Real-Estate industry deals
with a lot of interactions between customers and company employees, there is a high chance of getting
infected with this virus through daily activities and tasks. So HRM department needs to pay a lot of attention
to this topic as it will help to ensure health and safety of their employees and customers.

Here are some Strategic HRM suggestions for managers during pandemic situation that will help them to
reduce the chance of infection and reduce the casualty.

• Actively encourage employees with respiratory illness and fever to stay home until they are free of a
fever for at least 24 hours. You may still require they notify their supervisor daily.
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• As the business explores ways to increase social distancing at work, consider the following tools:

o Cancel non-essential face-to-face meetings;

o Cancel non-essential business travel;

o Use conference calling; and

o Offer tele-work or flexible hour options.

• Ensure that your sick leave policies are modified to be flexible enough they are consistent with any
public health guidance and employees are aware of these modified policies.

• Talk with companies that provide your business with contract or temporary employees about the
importance of their sick employees staying home and encourage them to develop non-punitive leave
policies consistent with CDC guidelines.

• Employers should have flexible policies permitting employees to stay home to care for a sick family
member. Employers should be aware more employees may need to stay at home to care for sick
children or other sick family members than usual.

• Be prepared to separate sick employees. The CDC recommends employees, who appear to have
acute respiratory illness symptoms (i.e., cough, shortness of breath) upon arrival to work, or become
sick during the day, should be separated from other employees and sent home immediately. Sick
employees should be told to cover their noses and mouths with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
(or an elbow or shoulder if no tissue is available).

• Place posters in the workplace that:

o Encourage staying at home when sick;

o Explain the proper etiquette for coughing & sneezing; E

o Explain hand hygiene when entering the work place or other working areas;

o Explain how to wash hands;

o How to use anti-bacterial gels; and

o Explain employees should use soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.

• Provide tissues & no-touch disposal receptacles for use by employees. Provide alcohol-based hand
sanitizer with 60-95 percent alcohol. Ensure supplies maintained in multiple locations or in
conference rooms.

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 • Perform routine environmental cleaning of all frequently touched surfaces - workstations,
countertops, doorknobs.

• Provide disposable wipes so commonly used surfaces (for example, doorknobs, keyboards, remote
controls, desks) can be wiped down by employees before each use.

• Ensure employees who become sick while traveling or on temporary assignment understand they
should notify their supervisor and promptly call a health care provider for advice if needed.
• Employees who are well but have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their
supervisor and refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential
exposure.
• Encourage employees to practice the six foot rule -when in public spaces and they notice someone
with symptoms; encourage them to keep a six-foot distance to lessen their risk.
• Making appropriate plans for changing the work duties, work spaces, or schedules for employees at
higher risk for complications from Covid-19.

3.5 SHRM Suggestions for Post Pandemic Situation

We hope that the time is near when everything will go back to normal and people will get back to the way it
was before this pandemic. But we cannot deny that it will surely affect our situation. And some Strategic
Human Resource decisions needs to be taken to ensure the continuance of business of Real Estate industry.
Below are some of the suggestions that the HR department can take to normalize the situation after the
pandemic is over:

• Focus on wellness should be the main priority. After dealing with the anxiety and stress of the
COVID-19 pandemic, employers will need to put more focus on the mental health and overall
wellness of its employees. Holistic benefits are a common way of introducing wellness to a
company. These benefits address all aspects of well-being, including mental health and financial
security.
• Workplace flexibility should be increased. As employees are now accustomed with working from
home, it will be difficult for them to suddenly start coming to office and dealing with hands-on
situations. But HR should allow some flexibility for them to ease into the situation.
• Employee up skilling, employees want to be appreciated on an individual level. One way to
employers can show that is through up skilling. Cross-training employees will boost their morale and
dedication to the company significantly.

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 • Introduction of AI driven technology. AI can help to map and forecast future customers and find out
patterns of previous customers. It will reduce the cost of surveying and be helpful to reach targets by
cutting down on time required for this types of tasks. Its usage is far reaching than we can imagine.
• Companies will be evaluated on how it performed during the pandemic situation. So humanitarian
approach should be taken during and also after the pandemic is over. Real Estate companies can
work with different NGOs to extend their hand in post pandemic damage control.

Chapter Four

Conclusion

For others, real estate may not be uppermost in their minds but it is still important. Many people who have
been saving into pension funds and similar products will find that a large proportion of these savings are tied
up in real estate – perhaps without them realizing the fact. The behavior of global real estate markets over
the coming years may have a big impact on the dividends and pay-outs that these types of passive investors
receive.

As more people grow wealthier in new and emerging economies across the globe, they will seek both homes
and savings vehicles. From a first time home to a property for children studying overseas, real estate has
never been more important to a wide segment of ordinary global citizens. This report examines it as a global
asset class. It shows how local property markets are becoming part of a global phenomenon experienced by
many individuals and families around the world.

For a Real Estate Developer, the current situation is the most challenging time from multiple aspects. New
and smart strategies are required to be implemented. The power of the internet and technical tools can be
very helpful to manage the operations remotely. While many developers would be facing the problems, the
one showing genuine care to both its workers and customers will emerge as a game-changer. Goodwill
during the adverse times is a long-lasting asset for any company.

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 Chapter Five

References:

COVID-19 and real estate: How the coronavirus is impacting the AEC industry. (2020, March 13).
Retrieved July 25, 2020, from https://www.bdcnetwork.com/covid-19-and-real-estate-how-
coronavirus-impacting-aec-industry?oly_enc_id=2026G4600790H3W

Developer, B. (2020, June 05). Four Ways The Global Pandemic Could Reshape U.S. Real Estate. Retrieved
July 25, 2020, from https://bdmag.com/four-ways-the-global-pandemic-could-reshape-u-s-real-estate/

McAllister, C. (2020, July 02). Council Post: The Post-Pandemic Real Estate Market. Retrieved July 25,
2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2020/07/03/the-post-pandemic-real-
estate-market/

Sullivan, P. (2020, July 17). New Tools for Home Buyers as the Pandemic Upends Real Estate. Retrieved
July 25, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/your-money/real-estate-relocation-
coronavirus.html

Toriano, G., Cruz, A., Styllis, G., Finch, S., Pomeroy, J., & Report, P. (2020, May 07). Identifying real
estate investment opportunities post-pandemic. Retrieved July 25, 2020, from
https://www.asiapropertyawards.com/en/real-estate-investment-opportunities-post-covid-19-
pandemic/

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