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In our coverage of the commercial real estate business, the subject of attracting more women to the industry and pay discrepancies are often discussed. Those issues are being played out in companies throughout the country, but even more so in the CRE industry. Trade organizations such as CREW and NAIOP have diversity and gender gap studies/efforts, which are a good start. But how does the industry as a whole begin to address these issues if companies don't follow suit?

In an industry notoriously and admittedly slow in adapting to technology and other key initiatives, one company is hoping to set the standard for diversity in the workplace. Colliers International has set out on a diversity initiative that it hopes will make a lasting difference in terms of gender, cultural, age and orientation biases that have been all too common in the workplace.

“We've found it to be an interesting mind shift of openness and cultural diversity,” says Anjee Solanki, national director, retail services. “The way we process information is based on our upbringing and other experiences, which we find through the human approach of getting to know one another in a meaningful way.”

Colliers began the diversity journey by understanding first what diversity is and then by becoming more aware of it as an area of opportunity. The company as a whole began thinking about diversity in recruitment, development of talent, mentorships, communications and partnerships.

First, it is important to define diversity and its many categories, including race, age, color, differences of opinion, ideas, thought, skills, knowledge, geography, background and culture, according to Colliers. “Diversity is anything that sets one individual apart from another,” quotes a recent post on the firm's Insights blog. “Diversity is about including different ideas, backgrounds and opinions in the mix when making key decisions, generating new ideas and solutions to our internal challenges, and externally with clients' toughest challenges. It is about encouraging variety of thought, embracing new ideas and creating a culture that fosters innovation by valuing these differences. Our clients represent different geographies, demographics, cultural perspectives and so forth. So, the best way for us to support their needs is to reflect that same diverse representation in our own teams and workforce.”

By the same token, the firm feels it is just as important to define what diversity is not. This would include compliance, which suggests a burden. Compliance is reactive and transactional, while diversity is proactive and transformational. Diversity is also not about tolerance or sensitivity—which come from lack of leadership or a dysfunctional culture. And it's not about special treatment or making things better only for specific groups of people. Diversity is about the full deployment of a variety of resources for better outcomes that benefit everyone. And diversity is not about charity. It is not about helping others who are less fortunate and thus being more charitable.

There is evidence that creating a diverse work force can contribute to increased retention and productivity, responsiveness to an increasingly diverse world of customers, improve relations with the surrounding community, increase the ability to cope with change, and expand the creativity of the organization overall.

Looking at the numbers of the average percentage of women on a US executive team, the Census Bureau and McKinsey diversity database cites 16%. Specific to the US commercial real estate industry, research indicates there is a significant lack of overall diversity. Just 79 of the Fortune 500 companies (15.8%) have boards with more than 40% diversity representation. Only six out of 175 commercial real estate companies (3.4%) have boards with more than 40% diversity representation. And, in a Wall Street Journal report on data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the disproportionately low numbers of overall minorities in real estate were cited. According to the report, out of 13,773 US senior executive positions, only 2.9% were Hispanic men, 1.6% were Asian men and 1.3% were African American men.

According to Colliers, this means the industry as a whole is missing key opportunities to optimize because it doesn't have the diversified talent necessary to innovate at a competitive level.

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Cynthia Foster, president, national office services for Colliers, agrees, pointing to the growing influence of women in the insurance field, pension funds, large institutional groups, as well as within the retail sector of commercial real estate, but says she hasn't “seen a huge change in office core brokerage”.

Colliers is already ahead of the curve when it comes to the gender gap, with one-third of its US executive leadership team comprised of women. Still, it acknowledges US brokerage is lagging. A recruiting effort involves a consultant who has been helping with broker recruitment and targeting B2B firms.

“Traditionally in hiring has been based on referrals and hiring from within the industry, which presents a limited talent pool and does not really provide diversity. Our goal is to always hire the best people, and when we do that, it actually creates diversity quite organically and naturally,” explaims Craig Robinson, president, USA of Colliers.” Anyone we hire needs to be able to perform, but it's the job of leadership to put people with varied backgrounds and experiences in positions where they can be successful and excel.”

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“We've already hired three people from outside the industry as brokers, and two of them are women,” he adds. “When I think about who's in our talent pipeline, I think about our diversity broadly and whether we are bringing diversity of all kinds–racial, gender, social economic, sexual orientation, diversity of thinking, etc.–to the table. We are demonstrating through our efforts that 'you are welcome here.' We make it easier for people with diverse backgrounds and identities to find their way into Colliers. We are hoping this compounding effect in force at Colliers will have an impact throughout the industry and overall workplace.”

Another bold way Colliers is addressing some of these issues plaguing the industry is by an action item put forth earlier this year. At its national conference in Denver, 40 of Colliers' top executives signed a diversity pledge to demonstrate their support and understanding of what diversity means to the team. The pledge was put on display during Colliers' “Power of Diversity” lunch that was held just before the AmCon meeting attended by global leaders and influencers. The diversity initiative was brand new at the global level so the luncheon was held to establish a foundational approach and way of thinking about diversity at Colliers, what is important to its clients and what diversity means within the CRE industry. The executives were then asked to spread the message of diversity in their own business units.

The Colliers diversity pledge states, “We embrace an environment where people feel empowered to share their perspectives, with confidence they will be heard. We encourage thought diversity, which sparks innovation and leads to amazing results. We seek to learn from those different than ourselves, to leverage knowledge and expand horizons. We offer opportunities for growth and learning, removing barriers to success. We strive to create a workforce that reflects the entire community and broadens understanding. Our differences make us stronger. We are committed to accelerating success.”

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The key to any program's success, whether diversity and inclusion or supplier related, is to have consistent, visible and focused executive support to ensure the program has every chance to be successful and push through organizational muscle memory–or in some cases, resistance.

“We are at a point in the US that we're having diversity conversations in the workplace,” says Robinson. “There is something powerful about a pledge that allows people to demonstrate support in their own ways.”

Colliers' approach is to establish guiding principles and overall awareness through internal means, but then empower local managers and business unit leaders to determine how best to be effective in their businesses. As a result, it is finding a spectrum of initiatives taking root–ranging from supplier diversity go-to-market strategies in New York City to MBA programs that will help develop more diverse middle management talent in Los Angeles. Colliers has also partnered with a number of minority organizations at the national, regional and individual level such as CREW, National Diversity Council and Real Estate Associate Program to help achieve its goals and learn from other models.

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Colliers believes this is one area where every competitor should be on the same team and committed to actively sharing and promoting what works. In addition, Colliers acknowledges that there is much to be learned from competitors, and vice versa, in order to bring about change. Robinson points to a full spectrum of diversity programs and efforts that a number of real estate companies have taken to address the issues of diversity in various operating contexts and priorities. At the supplier diversity end of the spectrum, a competitor has experimented with two notable Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) service provider partnerships. Colliers also has a number of MWBE strategic relationships that have been in existence for years and come with minority equity investments or other economic support from the company.

Rachel Scott, director of corporate services, Deutsche Bank Services, says the fact that “Colliers has an African American president [Robinson] speaks volumes on how they view diversity. And, it's refreshing to see women in leadership positions and positions of power in the industry.” Scott also points to Deutsche Bank as being “quite vocal about diversity,” holding panels on people of color and transgender issues.

Before the concept of diversity was fully formed, Colliers created an in-house university 12 years ago for employees to benefit from professional development. Colliers University is a tailored professional development platform offering a collection of commercial real estate, business and personal development courses. Built on the premise that learning is a competitive advantage and a key differentiator, CU has helped accelerate the professional and personal success of Colliers professionals around the globe. A number of webinars hosted recently focus on the topics of diversity, including “Colliers Clients on Diversity—What Matters to Them and Why,” “Women in CRE,” and “Millennials and the Future of CRE.”

One of the newest Colliers diversity initiatives is the MBA mentor program. Specifically designed to grow the rank of minorities and women at the mid-management level, and continually invest in young and diverse people, two recently hired MBAs are serving as senior associates to the president in a mentoring rotation for about 18 months. Not only do they interact regularly with high-level Colliers executives on key corporate initiatives, but they hone critical skills on corporate strategy needed for their eventual CRE career paths.

One such MBA mentee is Tanisha Dozier. She received an MBA from Columbia University in New York City, after a B.S. in finance from Hampton University in Hampton, VA. She finds the Colliers mentor program a strong progression in her future growth plans. With this “roadmap,” Dozier says she will be armed with a suite of skills when the 18 months concludes, with which she can pursue perhaps the operational and revenue side of the business.

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“The diversity initiative demonstrates that Colliers is aware, and the corporate climate demands it,” she says. “Having these conversations is necessary. I am constantly asking myself, 'What are my blind spots? What knowledge is missing that can help me make an informed decision?' Similarly, as companies examine ways to engage the marketplace, they also look for their blind spots. More and more firms are realizing that diversity is one of those spots.

“One of the values of being informed and embracing diversity,” she continues, “is that teams gain a broader perspective—an increasingly important evolution in commercial real estate as our client base becomes more diverse. As part of a program that is aimed at addressing this issue, I hope that my time here at Colliers contributes to the changing face of this industry and positively influences the way we do business.”

Dozier recently participated in the Colliers University panel discussion on millennials and the future of CRE, focusing on attraction and retention, and how the workspace will evolve to engage them.

“Throughout the industry, there is a more deliberate focus on developing young leaders and working with universities to better prepare students for careers in real estate. As a result, we see students from different backgrounds coming into the profession by choice and with solid foundations rather than by accident,” says Pay Wu, vice president, Americas and Global BlueWork, GBS Global Real Estate and Workplace Enablement, American Express.

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Karen Whitt, Colliers president of investor services and real estate management services, points to the importance of mentoring, both within and outside of Colliers. She chairs the career board for and serves on the executive committee of the Virginia Tech Program in Real Estate, which includes a strong mentoring and diversity component. She also takes part in quarterly women's lunches held in New York and Washington, DC.

The inclusiveness, she relates, “says 'we are them and they are us.' Through mentoring and training, you encourage women in administrative and mid-management to move up. Within investor services, there are now a lot more women in the room. I don't necessarily think about it, but it's there.”

Foster, too, mentors young women and has founded a group, Committee of Professional Women, to address the fact that men have natural networking capabilities that women may not have as readily available. “It's going on a decade strong of being each other's champions,” Foster says.

Mentoring is equally important to Robinson, who says, “I also believe it is important to mentor others and share what I have learned along my personal and professional journey. Professionally, I make it a point to make myself available to people who wouldn't traditionally have access to commercial real estate. Being in an executive position, I have even more of a chance to expose others to this industry, particularly those who are underrepresented.”

To be truly inclusive, the age ranges must represent not only the millennials but the seasoned professional. Tom Hynes, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Colliers' Boston office, has been with Colliers for more than 40 years. Truly a man who was ahead of his time before gender gap and diversity became hot topics, Hynes is not only a champion of women in real estate, but has the historical perspective to back up the cause. He joined NEWiRE (now CREW) in 2005 and in 2012, he received the NEWiRE Leadership Award which honors a member who has inspired, motivated and supported NEWiRE year after year and contributed to the entire Greater Boston real estate community.

“It takes diversity by position to build a good team of decision makers,” Hynes says. “Hiring the best talent puts everyone on an equal playing field.”

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As for measurable program outcomes for Colliers' diversity initiative, Robinson says “it's too early to tell at this point. We are experimenting with a number of initiatives and are eager to get a good body of best practices. In the meantime, engaging in conversations around diversity and inclusion with our people and our clients is making a difference in raising awareness and uncovering opportunities to make an impact.”

Executives at Colliers agree that diversity will be successfully achieved when there is no longer a question of whether companies are diverse enough, as it will become the norm. In the context of the workplace, to Colliers, valuing diversity means creating a work environment that respects and includes difference, recognizing the unique contributions that individuals with many types of differences can make and maximizes the potential of all employees.

“When you hire the best regardless of gender and ethnicity,” says Ed Alegre, president, Americas, Colliers valuation and advisory services. You get a diverse workforce, which becomes a competitive advantage. Take a chance on a person and you can have wonderful results.” Diversification, he adds, is going to be a long haul, not a one-year initiative.

Robinson concurs, adding, “Wouldn't it be awesome in five to 10 years for Real Estate Forum to have a follow-up story to this one, celebrating the huge strides we've made, not only as a company, but as an industry? And diversity wouldn't stop inside the four walls of the company, but extend to the company's supply chain and bleed into the way we go to market. The truth of the matter is that if we are open to attracting, retaining and promoting the best possible talent, regardless of who they are and where they come from, this will not be a diversity story but a winning story.”

Instant Insights /

Where Diversity Is the Norm

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