challenge
Like all other firms, the pandemic and resulting economic and human toll caused publicly held commercial real estate leader Colliers to rethink the delivery of its strategic priorities and related technology service offering to its clients and own people in the U.S. within its Technology & Innovation (T&I) practice. The role Colliers T&I plays as a workplace and real estate service provider to some of the largest investors and users of property around the world requires it to maintain constant speed, efficiency and quality in the delivery of real estate and brokerage technology solutions. Historically this meant the management of primarily in-house development, data, product and engineering resources; however, with the pandemic and shifts in how technology was deployed and used within its own organization, coupled with impacts to the supply chain and resource availability, T&I needed to adapt to alternative models to maintain and accelerate pace to accommodate new client needs.
Enter technology outsourcing. And immediately as a part of that strategy, T&I’s adoption of impact sourcing through its relationship with Sparq.
solution
From T&I’s perspective, as impact sourcing – and all outsourcing – represented a new approach to resource delivery, the group needed to find candidates that could operate seamlessly and also at a high degree of competency, handling strategic roles within the group. T&I researched providers that were culturally and value-driven, in alignment with Colliers’ standards. The firm conducted vendor interviews, did background checks, spoke to other clients about experiences, requested formal proposals and engagement model descriptions, and involved its global procurement and regional leadership in sourcing different solutions before arriving on Sparq as the right partner.
Sparq targets a mix of entry-level and experienced workers, who are located in ‘Middle America’ locations where they have centers. Middle America cities and those with technology aspirations who prefer to live there have been left behind in today’s digital economy. These individuals either don’t want to move from their home town to establish a career in IT, or they wish to re-locate or return to these locations for a better quality of life, lower cost of living or proximity to family. Sparq also strives for a diverse workforce, so they seek under-represented groups who traditionally might not get the right opportunities in IT.
results
Colliers T&I found in Sparq a sourcing partner for technology engineering that delivered cost-effective, U.S.-based resources for time zone purposes, was modeled for delivery of work virtually/was “COVID-ready,” and also aligned with Colliers key values of “doing what’s right for our clients, people and communities” and “investing in relationships to deliver enduring value,” particularly when it came to its environment, social and governance (ESG) requirements.
Sparq resources have emerged as high-impact contributors to the U.S. business, which has raised the awareness that impact sourcing models such as the one Sparq supplies can represent a preferred relationship solution. Impact sourcing fits into T&I’s post-COVID national model for technology resourcing extremely well, offering speed, expertise, quality, diversity, scalability, accountability, loyalty, and customer-oriented resources.
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