Historically, owners of commercial real estate appraisal firms have assumed their staff appraisers are psychic with mind reading and clairvoyant abilities to perceive future events.  Back in the day when I was a staff appraiser, I found it odd that the management style of a typical appraisal firm was almost an absentee owner. I felt like a free range chicken looking for guidance but finding none.

Trends in our industry are pointing to a "new normal" in which it's time for the chickens to come back to the roost. Working remotely and never seeing your appraisers ultimately becomes inefficient. Some face-to-face communications is critical between internal reviewers and staff appraisers for appraisal consistency, productivity discussions and collaboration on valuation issues when they arise.  They need feedback.

The following link provides a position statement that you can use with your staff appraisers or modify to use with support staff. Even if your appraiser has worked for your firm for a number of years, putting the crystal ball of vague expectations away and avoiding the mutual mystification will clear the air.  The position statement is just a guide to put on paper your expectations as the owner. The staff appraiser signs off on the specific requirements that the position holds, even if some of the items on the list are not currently being performed. 

As competition in our field heats up, better communication with your people is key. Sending your appraisers off on a mystical journey in which a perfectly completed appraisal ends up on your desk without any communication is no longer best practices.  When presented with this position statement, a "typical" appraiser will likely display the five stages of appraiser death: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The more experienced appraisers will likely take an uncooperative posture.  That's ok, I can also email you an exit interview form if they do not "come around".



Everyone needs a scorecard. This link is a performance review sample that will be very productive whether your appraiser (or support staff) are in first 90 day honeymoon period or veteran employees. Clearly setting out your expectations will greatly reduce your blood pressure and significantly increase your bottom line.