Falling trust levels, waning influence and concerns about transparency are among the top issues highlighted by members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in a consultation report published today.
The ‘Defining Our Future’ report undertaken by the 153-year-old body found that fewer than half of respondents (43%) are satisfied with their RICS membership, while the average trust score among members has plummeted from 81% in July 2020 to 58% in 2021.
Just under 30% of members said that RICS is “quite or very transparent” about its financial performance, with the majority of respondents (52%) believing that RICS is not transparent about the activities supported by member income. RICS’ average influence score, from the Survey of the Profession, has also fallen from 62% in 2020 to 49% in 2021.
The report was compiled following more than 100 roundtable discussions with members. RICS also received more than 8,000 individual responses from members
The institution has vowed to address the feedback it has received, with the Defining our Future consultation being the first step in its review process.
The group said it will be making a number of changes to improve member engagement, including establishing new advisory forums and undertaking more regular member consultations.
“Clearly, some of this feedback is challenging,” said RICS president Kath Fontana. “But it is essential for us to listen and we hear you loud and clear that there must be changes. We have heard that we must do more to earn the trust and confidence of our members, increase transparency and step up to lead the industry through these challenging times.
“We are already working hard to address many of the issues raised in this consultation process. This includes a major programme of digital transformation to provide a better, more personalised experience for members and stakeholders, and a new dedicated global membership engagement team with staff based around the world.”
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