黑洞社区

Sean Tompkins knows how to drop a name. The chief executive of the RICS is recently back from a prime minister-led trade mission to Brazil, which also featured bosses from firms including Foster + Partners, Laing O鈥橰ourke and Mott MacDonald. Exactly the sort of thing you would expect the RICS - which is trying to establish the surveying professions across the world - to attend. But it almost got him in hot water at home.

鈥淒avid Cameron was good enough to get me out of a personal hole. It was my daughter鈥檚 birthday and I missed it,鈥� he admits ruefully. 鈥淪o he wrote a personal excuse note - 鈥業鈥檓 very sorry your dad missed your birthday, it was all my fault, David Cameron. He was just promoting the British professions in Brazil.鈥欌��

In case you were wondering, the apology was accepted.

But two years into his role, it鈥檚 clear Tompkins (who says he hates flying) is still clocking up air miles promoting surveying around the world. He says there is evidence the strategy is paying off, with RICS standards taking root in some of the world鈥檚 most rapidly developing economies - including China and India - and RICS membership hitting 35,000 overseas for the first time.

But Tompkins is the first to admit that not all the organisation鈥檚 75,000 members in the UK are supportive of the RICS鈥� international expansion plans. What鈥檚 more, the RICS has been hit by a series of domestic controversies over the past year - from allegations of conflicts of interest in its dispute resolution service to outpourings of anger over membership fee rises - that have rocked confidence in body.

From his office at the RICS鈥� international headquarters in London鈥檚 Parliament Square, Tompkins confidently sets out the case for continued global growth and explains how the RICS is getting its house in order at home.

Man on a mission

In 10 to 20 years鈥� time, the RICS will have as many members overseas as in the UK, Tompkins believes. The body鈥檚 strategy for getting there is to set up across the world - focusing on the most rapidly developing economies - and establish surveying standards he says are 鈥渕assively鈥� in demand overseas. There are now 10,000 RICS members in the BRIC countries alone, he says.

The RICS is now set up in 27 countries and Tompkin鈥檚 strategy is to generate more demand for the RICS鈥� standards. Much of Tompkins鈥� time is spent 鈥渨orking with employers, end-users or governments to get them to endorse or accept RICS standards鈥�, he says.

There are some notable successes, particularly in the property sector, where he says RICS standards are now accepted as 鈥渢he top level鈥� for property brokerages throughout Europe.

The RICS is in discussions with the Indian government on 鈥渉ow to train the 500,000 construction and property professionals they believe they are short of to deliver their next five to 10 year [infrastructure] plan鈥�. In China, Tompkins recently met the head of the professional services regulator to discuss how to incorporate RICS鈥� measurement and embodied carbon standards in the country鈥檚 construction market. He says China wants to create 鈥渟omething not too dissimilar to the RICS鈥� to cover 鈥渢he whole life-cycle of property鈥�.

We鈥檝e almost got to a point where we鈥檙e taking professions for granted in the UK. That鈥檚 not happening anywhere else

He dismisses his 鈥減arochial鈥� critics, saying Brits have a problem with selling themselves abroad. 鈥淲e鈥檝e almost got to a point where we鈥檙e taking professions for granted [in the UK],鈥� the boss of the 143-year-old body says. 鈥淚 can promise you that鈥檚 not what鈥檚 happening anywhere else. They are massively in demand, highly valued, nurtured, supported and invested in.鈥�

Indeed, he says the expansion drive is as much about promoting the surveying profession at home as abroad, and that the economic imperative for doing so is clear. 鈥淥ur economic future in the UK will be based on trading knowledge around the world for capital,鈥� he says.

He says the RICS is politically neutral, but he backs Cameron鈥檚 international trade push. 鈥淚鈥檇 like the leader of my country to be going out and linking me up with the rest of the world, and I鈥檓 hoping chartered surveyors would like the leader of their profession to be doing the same.鈥�

The home front

Back in the UK, Tompkins accepts that it is a tough market for QSs. He says the RICS can help by driving best practice in the areas posing the biggest challenges for firms - particularly around technology, BIM and developing multidisciplinary skills, such as adding project and programme management skills to cost consultancy.

One way of doing this is to be at the heart of government policy, Tompkins says. He says the RICS was one of the main voices lobbying for a construction strategy and a construction adviser, and now these have been implemented, the RICS can make a greater impact on policy. He points to developments in cost benchmarking - the government is developing a database of costs across all building projects to drive savings - and embodied carbon as areas 鈥渨here people are starting to think differently鈥�.

He gives robust responses when questioned on the corporate controversies that have hit the RICS in the past year. Last November 黑洞社区 reported that two senior members of its dispute resolution service, Wajid Khan and Carol Goodall, had left the RICS over an alleged conflict of interest involving an RICS鈥� claim that they used internal information to set up a now-defunct website about dispute resolution specialists, First4ADR.com. Law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse was drafted in to investigate the service and finally gave it a clean bill of health in March.

Tompkins says the RICS has put in place new procurement and financial procedures since then and is confident the controversy is 鈥渂ehind鈥� the RICS.
And he is unapologetic about fee increases. RICS members took to social networks to complain of average membership fee rises of 4.6% this year - at a time when the market is stagnant. Tompkins says the increases are justified as 鈥渢he profession is not dying, in fact it is massively expanding because of its future [international] potential鈥�, and points to operational savings of 拢750,000 last year that have lightened the burden on members.

Call for help

Tompkins is a natural salesman - no surprise, given that he was head of marketing at global insurance giant Prudential before he joined the RICS - and he is convinced the RICS needs to be sold better at home and abroad.

But he is also concentrating on being a good listener, as well as a talker. Under his leadership the bosses of surveying firms have a say in his annual performance review for the first time. Asked whether they gave him good feedback this year, he replies with a laugh: 鈥淚鈥檓 still here.鈥�

He closes the interview with a plea to the wider profession to get more involved with the organisation: 鈥淚f people don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 doing a great job I鈥檇 rather they told me now than three years down the line. You need to help me - it is not a one-way street.鈥�