Where have all the brokers gone? Industry facing brain drain as talent passes on CRE.

In the world of commercial brokerage, there may be some truth to the old adage 'good help is hard to find.'

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Among recent college graduates, many would-be commercial brokers are turning to the financial sector and those who are choosing a real estate career fresh from college, tend to prefer the residential side--where there's less risk and more immediate results.

Just ask Suzy Reingold, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield's New York offices.

"It's a much longer learning curve ... it's not an immediate gratification on the commercial side," says Reingold, who has been interviewing brokers for a decade. "And they can get much larger salaries in private banking, equity and hedge funds."

Reingold says it takes longer for a commercial broker to learn the industry, build a name and cultivate relationships. And since it takes time to find success in the market, the responsibility of college loans can mean commercial real estate is too big a gamble for some.

While Reingold says there's no shortage of applicants at Cushman & Wakefield, firms everywhere have wrestled with best practices not just for recruitment but also for retention.

"Young people want to be in New York," she said. "Our challenge is finding them with sales experience."

And those who do have a few years of sales experience have a higher retention rate, says Reingold. New interviewing strategies at Cushman & Wakefield are aimed at not only finding the right brokers, but brokers with the promise of longevity in the business.

Reingold says the company is in the process of retraining managers on the interviewing process, which now includes testing of both personality traits and sales ability. Cushman & Wakefield looks for people who can self-manage, thrive in a team environment, those who are convincing, and those who can handle adversity with aplomb--all characteristics Reingold likens to "stick-toitiveness."

But Cushman & Wakefield--home to 180 commercial brokers in its New York offlees--also understands that in order to retain the best, professional development must be continual. The company's

Learning Institute provides ongoing training to improve presentation and marketing skills. An annual emerging broker training also presents a tiered approach to professional development, which often includes collaboration with other commercial brokers within the company, daily mentoring and the availability of an online learning portal. The tools have generated positive feedback from brokers.

Dean Shapiro, executive managing director of New York brokerage at CB Richard Ellis, says familiarity plays a major role in real estate and agrees the learning curve is much greater in commercial, estimating it takes a solid two years of training before brokers are adequately prepared. But with residential brokerage, people don't need to step away from their comfort zone.

"I think people are naturally more comfortable with residential because they're familiar with it and they've probably been through the process themselves," Shapiro said.

The 150 commercial brokers in CBRE's New York offices seldom come straight from college, and the few who do undergo an extensive 18 months of training referred to as the Wheel Program. Shapiro says recent college graduates are too "green" for commercial real estate that CBRE's focuses on hiring people with tenacity, passion and sales experience.

And after that hiring process, said Shapiro, everything they do addresses retention. One way they achieve this is by creating a diverse pool of brokers who collaborate and support one another.

"We have a great training program here. There's a great emphasis on professional development both within the organization and globally," Shapiro said.

Abraham Hidary, president of Hidrock Realty, knows all too well the importance of retention. As a small Midtown-based brokerage, he knows the standouts could easily land at larger firms.

As a result, his company offers a base salary, medical benefits and 401K options to its brokers.

Hidary noted there are fewer college graduates interested in commercial real estate today and that finance seems to be "the flavor of the month" (though that may soon change), an observation echoed by Jon Moore, vice president of development for Value Companies.

Moore has worked with Cornell University graduate students for two years, bringing real estate masters degree students on board through a 10-week internship program. He says students who are taking advantage of real estate degrees typically don't consider commercial brokerage.

"They're interested in real estate finance," Moore said. "You see a lot of interest in investment banking."

And Moore says real estate students who don't find finance most stimulating typically opt for a career in development.

SelectLeaders, a job networking Web site for real estate, recently released a Job Barometer report for commercial real estate that found job postings for commercial real estate positions jumped 35% from February to April 2007 and projects that firms will have an increasingly difficult time filling these positions--disappointing news for the 62% of companies expecting to beef up hiring over the next six months. The Barometer attributes the new demand to the industry bust of the 90s which bled the ranks dry of seasoned staff, and the retirement of more baby boomers.

Such is the concern, commercial real estate's talent shortage will top the agenda at the Global Summit hosted by corporate real estate group, CoreNet, in Altanta, Ga., in Ocotber. "The talent shortage is a hot button for the entire corporate real estate industry that far outweighs any other issue of importance," said Dr. Prentice Knight, CEO of CoreNet Global.

"The fall Global Summit offers the opportunity for our members to hear how their peers are dealing with a critical HR issue and come up with solutions to brain drains at their companies."

While fewer professionals are perhaps pining for a career in commercial brokerage, experts like Shapiro and Hidary don't believe it's crippling the quality of brokers.

Hidary points to the risk of building a name in the commercial climate and its stuffier, suit-and-tie culture as factors in deterring people from the commercial end of brokerage.

"When someone wants to be in brokerage, they like to have flexibility in terms of hours, dress code and work style," Hidary said. "And residential brokerage is more set up that way."

Hidrock, which has five commercial brokers on the payroll, provides support and specialized training focushag on midtown Manhattan to help ensure the highest degree of knowledge for their market.

Hidary said that helps maintain a high broker retention level because it creates an environment more conducive to their success. "We try to stick with what we know," Hidary said. There's no denying brokerage can create a cutthroat environment. Hidary says agents have more opportunity to do well in the residential market, but if they really want to make top dollar, they go into commercial real estate--it's a risk some are unwilling to take.

"In commercial brokerage, you either make it or you don't," he said.