Colliers president creates financial incentives to cool turf wars

Since starting his job as the president of Colliers International’s U.S. operations, Craig Robinson Jr. has made some changes to try to curtail infighting in the company. Robinson has started new programs and has added financial incentives to improve coöperation, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“We are removing the friction,” Robinson told the newspaper. “These aren’t simply aspirations. We’re investing in and organizing our business accordingly.”

Robinson has reorganized the U.S. business at Colliers to focus on the needs of those who own and use real estate, the newspaper reported. Colliers also hired experts who don’t just focus on brokerage services, but who specialize in workplace efficiency, lease administration and portfolio analysis. To make sure everyone works together, one new initiative is that brokers receive financial rewards when their clients pay fees for other Colliers services.

Brokers are also responsible for managing client relationships.

“That’s a very different mind-set,” Robinson told the Journal, “than a patronizing one that says ‘thank you for bringing us the client. We’ll take it from here.'”

Earlier this year, parent company FirstService Corporation announced it would spin off Colliers as a public company. [WSJ]— Claire Moses