John Smith - Recruiting and Training Challenges

The property assessment profession faces a curious paradox. While our work forms the backbone of local government finance and requires sophisticated analytical skills, we struggle to attract young talent who see government work, particularly tax assessment, as an uninspiring career path. Yet for those of us in the field, we know the reality is far different: we're data analysts, market researchers, educators, and increasingly, technology innovators.

The Accidental Professional

John Smith, Deputy Chief Appraiser in Hall County, Georgia, embodies a truth many of us recognize: most assessors stumble into this profession rather than pursue it intentionally. Coming from the construction industry with a background in cabinet-making, Smith applied his cost estimation skills to property valuation without fully understanding what he was signing up for.

"Not many people get into the government side of appraisal, into mass appraisal on purpose," Smith reflects. This accidental entry point, while creating diverse perspectives within our offices, also highlights our industry's visibility problem.

Technology as the Great Equalizer

What transforms an accidental assessor into a passionate advocate for the profession? For Smith, who also chairs the technology committee for the Georgia Association of Assessing Officers, it's the intersection of traditional valuation work with modern technology.

"My passion is technology. My job is to value property. I love being able to find ways to bring technology in to make it easier, more accurate, cleaner," he explains. This isn't about replacing human judgment, it's about amplifying it.

Beyond the Basics

While many jurisdictions invest in aerial imagery and change detection services, Smith advocates for mastering tools already at our disposal. Excel, despite being decades old, remains underutilized in many offices. His current focus? Microsoft Power BI.

"I can build a dashboard for them and they can pull the data they need... without really having to know how to do it," Smith notes. This democratization of data access solves a persistent challenge: how to empower staff members who aren't technologically savvy while maintaining analytical rigor.

Jurisdictions are using Power BI to:

• Streamline Board of Equalization packet preparation
• Conduct regression analysis for quality control
• Monitor price per square foot trends
• Validate land values across neighborhoods

The Customer Service Imperative

Technology adoption isn't just about internal efficiency, it's about serving taxpayers better. With residential values experiencing what many experts now view as a return to trend rather than a bubble, taxpayers need clear explanations for significant increases.

Smith shares a sobering statistic from his customer service training: "For every person that has a complaint, they're going to tell nine people. For every person that's happy with you, they're not going to tell anybody."

This multiplier effect makes every interaction critical. Technology helps by providing clear, data-driven explanations, but human skills remain paramount. As Smith learned in the casino industry and applies now: "A lot of people, that's all they want. They want somebody to listen to them."

The Training Investment

Hall County's approach to new appraiser development reveals the depth of knowledge required in modern assessment. After completing state-mandated certification courses, new appraisers spend approximately two months in supervised field work before operating independently.

The training encompasses:

• Mobile assessment technology (with old-school paper backup methods)
• CAMA system logic and processes
• Excel and other productivity tools
• Customer communication techniques

"You can't just tell a taxpayer, well, the computer says," Smith emphasizes. Understanding the why behind valuations remains fundamental, regardless of technological sophistication.

Building Tomorrow's Workforce

Perhaps the most pressing challenge facing our profession isn't technology adoption or market volatility, it's succession planning. Smith observes what many of us see: "It tends to be a little bit of an aging industry. There's not a lot of young people coming in."

Local technical colleges and universities with GIS programs provide some talent pipeline, particularly for mapping positions. But competition with the private sector for appraisers remains fierce. Remote work preferences among job seekers clash with the collaborative nature of assessment work, where "you lose a little bit of connectivity" when teams aren't physically together.

Smith suggests industry organizations like IAAO might need to lead broader public education and recruiting efforts, as individual jurisdictions lack resources for extensive outreach.

The Einstein Principle

Smith's philosophy on professional development draws from Einstein: "Unless you can explain something to a five-year-old, you don't know it yourself." This principle applies whether explaining market-derived depreciation to a taxpayer or teaching Power BI to a colleague.

For new assessors, Smith's advice is straightforward: Learn the fundamentals through required courses, but then embrace technology. "Everything is turning into technology. So my advice, other than learning the process, would be learn technology. Get comfortable with technology."

Key Takeaway

The future of property assessment lies not in choosing between traditional valuation principles and modern technology, but in synthesizing them. Tools like Power BI don't replace assessor judgment, they amplify our ability to analyze markets, serve taxpayers, and train the next generation. As Smith demonstrates, technology mastery combined with strong communication skills and deep market knowledge creates assessors capable of handling whatever challenges emerge.

The "accidental" nature of many assessment careers might actually be our profession's hidden strength. Drawing talent from construction, military service, private sector, and beyond brings diverse problem-solving approaches. Our job is to channel that diversity through modern tools while maintaining the personal touch that builds public trust in the fairness and accuracy of our work.