The Challenge
Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI) is a publicly traded global real estate company with roots in Vancouver, but now operates 550 offices in 68 countries worldwide. Colliers has experienced a long history of growth, the most recent phase of which is supported through a modern technology solution. To prepare for the technology change, Colliers engaged Propel Solutions to lead a review of the organization’s current processes to identify areas of operational improvement as well as any additional requirements for the new technology platform. Propel conducted a pilot review of current processes at three North American offices to identify Process Improvements, Organizational Design and Systems Requirements. Propel was also charged with providing a Change Management Roadmap to guide the implementation of the process and technology improvements.
The Objectives
- Process Review & Requirements Gathering: Propel reviewed the current processes in three North American offices to determine opportunities for sharing best practices across the organization. This was done through interviewing staff, observing work practices, and creating detailed process maps that were critiqued by executives, managers and staff. The resulting “as-is analysis” was used to identify opportunities for process improvement as well as system touchpoints to help inform new system requirements.
- Process Improvement Roadmap: Through the Process Review, Propel identified opportunities for improvement in 10 areas including document management, deal transaction, quality control and broker service. The opportunities were categorized as Quick Wins (relatively easy to implement) or Longer Term Recommendations to be implemented during and after the system roll-out. Propel was also able to identify new systems requirements that were shared with the systems implementation team to assist them in ensuring the new solution would meet the needs of users.
- Change Management Roadmap and Organizational Design to Support the Future Direction: Colliers had faced resistance to system and process uptake in the past, which is why a key component of Propel’s project was a Change Management Roadmap. This strategy was developed to aid in the implementation of the process improvements, and included recommendations for organizational structure, training, and new office standardization. Propel also created a step-by-step Implementation Plan to clearly outline each stage required to execute and reinforce each individual change.
TheResults
Propel engaged all levels of the business from employees and managers at three separate North American offices to executives at the Vancouver corporate center. Overall, Propel provided Colliers with 150+ opportunities, 20+ recommendations, and nearly 60 new systems requirements – all aimed at providing tangible enhancements to directly improve the experience of the system users, reduce deal transaction times organization-wide, and support excellent user adoption of the new solution.
