Human Resources - Case Studies

DTZ Case Study

A major transformation programme at this global real estate advisory services firm required a senior interim HR Director – and a good cultural fit

London based DTZ has been helping clients with commercial property needs for over 225 years and now operates across 140 cities in 42 countries. In 1987 it became the first property adviser to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. An early entrant to the Middle East market in 1975, growth since then has been driven by mergers and acquisitions, particularly overseas with DTZ moving into Europe in 1993 and Asia in 1999. Today it is the leading real estate advisor in China. But like most of the property sector, it was one of the first to feel the effects of the global economic downturn. Since 2008 DTZ has therefore been transforming its business under the leadership of a new chief executive, explains Ollie Roberts, Head of HR for Canada, CEMEA and Infrastructure.

“Our principle challenge was to re-capitalise the business, which our new CEO, Paul Idzik, did in early 2009, raising £49m. The next step was to take significant cost out of the business, which again we did, taking out around £70m in 2009 alone. Since then we’ve been continuing to focus on further operational efficiencies, driven by the desire to be globally consistent in how we do things. Today we’re in better shape and focussing on organic growth. The recent changes in DTZ have been unprecedented, and in a firm this old, that’s saying something.”

All of this change means DTZ is an experienced user of interim executives, he points out:

“Interims give us access to specific skills and experience we either don’t necessarily need on a permanent basis, or while we look for the right permanent candidate which can take time, particularly if they are senior or the skill set is specialist. As a resourcing option, it’s clean, straight-forward and simple – and it works for us.”

DTZ originally briefed Amanda Luke of Archer Mathieson in 2009 to provide maternity cover for a divisional Head of Human Resources. Among the shortlist Luke recommended was Alison Sellars, a senior HR professional with a 12 year record as an interim executive. Sellars has the right skill set and change management experience after working in companies that include HP, Cisco and AstraZeneca. But it was the softer skills that landed her the role, says DTZ’s Ollie Roberts:

“With interims you generally take the technical skills and experience as a given; what makes all the difference to their ability to execute successfully are the soft skills – an ability to win trust, integrate well with your permanent staff and secure buy-in. In any change management programme, that’s crucial.

“Amanda Luke spotted a good match in Alison and clearly has a knack for gauging that aspect of things; she’s a good listener, understood our requirements implicitly and only offered us high-quality candidates at shortlist. It was a refreshing change from the tactics that can be used by others, who tend to ‘spray bodies at you and pray!’, he adds.”

Alison Sellars’ original assignment went well and she was asked to stay on and help with the DTZ transformation programme. That, in turn, led to other work, she explains:

“I became Head of HR for CEMEA and worked on the transformation programme in those regions. I then handed over to Ollie Roberts and began a six month global reward project. DTZ had a large number of different remuneration schemes in place, many the result of its mergers and acquisitions legacy. The challenge was to rationalise and standardise wherever possible. It was extremely complex with all the data gathering, legal and cultural aspects to get to grips with, but none-the-less very interesting. DTZ operates in a sector where entire teams are often tempted away by competitors. To mitigate against that calls for a sophisticated, consistent and flexible reward policy. That’s what DTZ now has; the firm is very good at employee retention these days. ”

Since October Sellars has provided maternity cover for the head of HR for UK and Ireland, where DTZ employs c1, 400 people. In a few months she expects to be on the lookout for her next interim role.

“I’ve scaled back the number of preferred interim service providers I will use to just two, and one of them is Archer Mathieson. Amanda is very straight-forward and honest about your skills. More importantly, she has a high degree of emotional intelligence; she quickly got who I am and my management style, and correctly matched me to DTZ. On top of that, Archer Mathieson keeps in touch once they’ve met you. That alone is worth its weight in gold when you’re an interim between assignments.”

Ollie Roberts agrees:
“A recruitment firm’s reputation hinges on the calibre of people you deal with and their ability to make good matches. On both counts, Archer Mathieson stands out.”