With a lawyer and teacher for parents, Marta Almeida realised early on that human resource management was thepath she would take. At 44, she is responsible for the national coordination of DS Intermediários de Crédito and DS Imobiliária. Her leadership skills have been tested over the years. She has worked in professional training, in a banking institution and in 2006 she joined the Decisões e Soluções Group. Initially as a client manager, months later she opened a branch in Peso da Régua (where she was born) and another year later, she took on the role of the brand’sregional coordinator. This path led her to be in charge of the DS Intermediários de Crédito project in 2017 and to launch the DS Imobiliária brandin 2021. She is a woman who is proud of herself and her path «which proves that women can be as good at their jobs as men professionally». Female recognition has been one of her goals. She is married, the mother of Maria and Pedro, continues to live in her hometown, supports causes, is an entrepreneur and leads two DS projects from the north to the south of Portugal.
You took on the role of National Coordinating Director in 2017 and, in 2021, that of National Coordinator for DS Imobiliária. Tell us about this path and how have these years coordinating teams and peoplebeen?
Taking on the national coordination of DSI Crédito was the result of a restructuring of the DS group, the result of a specialisation in the credit area that the market was looking for. The invitation came after having been at the head of the regional coordination for the mother brand for several years, and thus I decided to accept this challenge as an opportunity and because I believed in the business concept, made of people for people. After four years heading DSI Crédito, a period during which we opened around 85 branches throughout the country, we wanted to be bold and, in 2021, we presented the market with an innovative and distinctive model in the field of Real Estate Consultancy in Portugal. Looking at everything that has already been created makes me feel immensely grateful and certain that the future will be bright. We are surrounded by excellent professionals and we have unique projects that really make a difference to people’s lives. The 700+ people with us and the lives of our clients.
Is being in charge of coordinating a real estate consulting firm, and in credit intermediation, in one of the sector’s most important companies in the country, a constant challenge?
Apart from being a daily challenge, it is also a balancing act between the human resources of the brands and the market we want to reach. In order for this equation to remain in balance, our approach is fundamentally based on three pillars: knowledge, training and motivation. So, I would say yes, but more than being a constant challenge, it is our obligation to create the conditions so that we can have our teams providing high-quality and, at the same time, personalisedservice.
«The real secret of DSI Crédito are the people that make it up»
What goals has DSI Creditoset out for the year 2022?
The goals for the year 2022 are based on the opening of more branches so that we can continue the work that is already being done all over the country, from a perspective of greater proximity. With this, we will be creating more job opportunities, helping families and the consequence will be doubling the network’s accounting volume compared to 2021.
Human resources are the most important factor in a company. What concerns do you haveand care do you take with your employees?
The focus on our teams is directed towards a formula that comes from the origins of the Decisões e Soluções group: training, training and training. This constant work is accompanied by planning, strategy and guidance. All the necessary ingredients for us to be able to guarantee the best service for our clients, as well as the well-being of those we have in the brand.
DSI Crédito has proved a successever since its creation. What is the secret?
Humanisation of the brand. The real secret of DSI Créditoare the people that make it up. Besides the technical skills, fundamental for the development and realisation of the business itself, the human and motivational characteristics are characteristics that we also strive to find in the people who wish to come and work in our project.
«DSI Crédito has enjoyed exponential growth during the years of the pandemic»
You offer various services to the client in areas such as real estate mediation, mediation of building works and construction, credit intermediationand information technologies. Was there a gap in the market and, therefore, this move?
The market studies carried out during the process of creating the brand led us to conclude that, in fact, there is a distance between mediators and clients. Our main concern is to act in several areas to better serve our clients, according to their real needs and goals. This is a cutting-edge, distinctive project, because we know that, increasingly, working in real estate is choosing to deal with people. Whether they are clients who are buying or selling. People are unique, with their own wishes, desires and dreams. Being in Real Estate Consultancy today has to be much more than listing and selling houses.
Considering that, despite the pandemic, which has lasted for more than two years, the real estate market has not stopped growing, how have these past few years for DSI Crédito been?
Contrary to expectations, DSI Créditohas enjoyed exponential growth during the years of the pandemic. Our investment was fundamentally digital, creating all the conditions to keep in touch. This «lookingforward» meant that we were very involved with the teams, which ended up helping to even more leverage the results of the branches and consequently the brand, but also in terms of expansion, we managed to create all the conditions necessary to maintain the pace of the presentation of the project and we signed dozens of new contracts.
What makes you different from the competition?
One of our strongest commitments is to provide our customers with physical proximity. Serving the entire local population, from the north to the south of the country. Although there is a lot of talk about digital technology nowadays, we believe that clients prefer professional relationships based on proximity; after all, we are talking about a financial service provided to families. On the other hand, the strong commitment to the ongoing training of the teams, based essentially on the legislative component, as well as assessment of the performance of our professionals, using internal metrics that serve as a behavioural barometer. We want to provide our clients with a distinctive service, so we have to be creative and innovative.
«We will have several investments in the construction area getting off the ground and house prices will remain high»
At a national level, what is your view the Real Estate sector, inside and outside of DS?
With DS Imobiliária we are bringing innovation, dynamics and distinction. Bringing a different consultancy to the clients. However, and in general, I believe that the trend will continue: we will have several investments in the construction area getting off the groundand house prices will remain high. Less bureaucracy, greater speed. That would certainly make the construction area bring more new products to the market. While this is not the case, we’ll still have a shortage of new products, which will continue to push up the price of second-handreal estate.
Given that we are facing a war in Europe, what worries you most in professional and personal terms?
While the current moment that Europe and the world are going through, cannot leave us indifferent on a personal level, it forces us to be more attentive on a professional level. The direct consequence of an event of such dimension as the war in Ukraine has, above all, repercussions on a social and humanitarian level, with consequences yet to be determined, which may become crucial in the policies to be implemented in a supra-national context, to which Portugal will be no exception.
Outside work, what are you like?
I am very grateful to life and I try to pass on my philosophy of life to everyone around me. I consider myself a goal-oriented person who likes to outline and think about the goals I want to achieve, therefore I am very methodical and organised in my time management. I love travelling, being with my family, and sharing time with my friends. I consider myself a fulfilled and happy person. I do what I love and live a life filled with passion and a lot of adrenaline!
You took on the role of National Coordinating Director in 2017 and, in 2021, that of National Coordinator for DS Imobiliária. Tell us about this path and how have these years coordinating teams and peoplebeen?
Taking on the national coordination of DSI Crédito was the result of a restructuring of the DS group, the result of a specialisation in the credit area that the market was looking for. The invitation came after having been at the head of the regional coordination for the mother brand for several years, and thus I decided to accept this challenge as an opportunity and because I believed in the business concept, made of people for people. After four years heading DSI Crédito, a period during which we opened around 85 branches throughout the country, we wanted to be bold and, in 2021, we presented the market with an innovative and distinctive model in the field of Real Estate Consultancy in Portugal. Looking at everything that has already been created makes me feel immensely grateful and certain that the future will be bright. We are surrounded by excellent professionals and we have unique projects that really make a difference to people’s lives. The 700+ people with us and the lives of our clients.
Is being in charge of coordinating a real estate consulting firm, and in credit intermediation, in one of the sector’s most important companies in the country, a constant challenge?
Apart from being a daily challenge, it is also a balancing act between the human resources of the brands and the market we want to reach. In order for this equation to remain in balance, our approach is fundamentally based on three pillars: knowledge, training and motivation. So, I would say yes, but more than being a constant challenge, it is our obligation to create the conditions so that we can have our teams providing high-quality and, at the same time, personalisedservice.
«The real secret of DSI Crédito are the people that make it up»
What goals has DSI Creditoset out for the year 2022?
The goals for the year 2022 are based on the opening of more branches so that we can continue the work that is already being done all over the country, from a perspective of greater proximity. With this, we will be creating more job opportunities, helping families and the consequence will be doubling the network’s accounting volume compared to 2021.
Human resources are the most important factor in a company. What concerns do you haveand care do you take with your employees?
The focus on our teams is directed towards a formula that comes from the origins of the Decisões e Soluções group: training, training and training. This constant work is accompanied by planning, strategy and guidance. All the necessary ingredients for us to be able to guarantee the best service for our clients, as well as the well-being of those we have in the brand.
DSI Crédito has proved a successever since its creation. What is the secret?
Humanisation of the brand. The real secret of DSI Créditoare the people that make it up. Besides the technical skills, fundamental for the development and realisation of the business itself, the human and motivational characteristics are characteristics that we also strive to find in the people who wish to come and work in our project.
«DSI Crédito has enjoyed exponential growth during the years of the pandemic»
You offer various services to the client in areas such as real estate mediation, mediation of building works and construction, credit intermediationand information technologies. Was there a gap in the market and, therefore, this move?
The market studies carried out during the process of creating the brand led us to conclude that, in fact, there is a distance between mediators and clients. Our main concern is to act in several areas to better serve our clients, according to their real needs and goals. This is a cutting-edge, distinctive project, because we know that, increasingly, working in real estate is choosing to deal with people. Whether they are clients who are buying or selling. People are unique, with their own wishes, desires and dreams. Being in Real Estate Consultancy today has to be much more than listing and selling houses.
Considering that, despite the pandemic, which has lasted for more than two years, the real estate market has not stopped growing, how have these past few years for DSI Crédito been?
Contrary to expectations, DSI Créditohas enjoyed exponential growth during the years of the pandemic. Our investment was fundamentally digital, creating all the conditions to keep in touch. This «lookingforward» meant that we were very involved with the teams, which ended up helping to even more leverage the results of the branches and consequently the brand, but also in terms of expansion, we managed to create all the conditions necessary to maintain the pace of the presentation of the project and we signed dozens of new contracts.
What makes you different from the competition?
One of our strongest commitments is to provide our customers with physical proximity. Serving the entire local population, from the north to the south of the country. Although there is a lot of talk about digital technology nowadays, we believe that clients prefer professional relationships based on proximity; after all, we are talking about a financial service provided to families. On the other hand, the strong commitment to the ongoing training of the teams, based essentially on the legislative component, as well as assessment of the performance of our professionals, using internal metrics that serve as a behavioural barometer. We want to provide our clients with a distinctive service, so we have to be creative and innovative.
«We will have several investments in the construction area getting off the ground and house prices will remain high»
At a national level, what is your view the Real Estate sector, inside and outside of DS?
With DS Imobiliária we are bringing innovation, dynamics and distinction. Bringing a different consultancy to the clients. However, and in general, I believe that the trend will continue: we will have several investments in the construction area getting off the groundand house prices will remain high. Less bureaucracy, greater speed. That would certainly make the construction area bring more new products to the market. While this is not the case, we’ll still have a shortage of new products, which will continue to push up the price of second-handreal estate.
Given that we are facing a war in Europe, what worries you most in professional and personal terms?
While the current moment that Europe and the world are going through, cannot leave us indifferent on a personal level, it forces us to be more attentive on a professional level. The direct consequence of an event of such dimension as the war in Ukraine has, above all, repercussions on a social and humanitarian level, with consequences yet to be determined, which may become crucial in the policies to be implemented in a supra-national context, to which Portugal will be no exception.
Outside work, what are you like?
I am very grateful to life and I try to pass on my philosophy of life to everyone around me. I consider myself a goal-oriented person who likes to outline and think about the goals I want to achieve, therefore I am very methodical and organised in my time management. I love travelling, being with my family, and sharing time with my friends. I consider myself a fulfilled and happy person. I do what I love and live a life filled with passion and a lot of adrenaline!
