People

We invest annually in a range of women talent and leadership programs and set hiring and promotion targets to advance gender equality. In 2021, 56% of our new hires and 40% of our internal promotions were gender diverse and CBRE Pacific recorded an overall employee ratio of 58.1% men and 41.9% women.

CBRE has official industry-leading policies in place for employees. We offer FlexWork arrangements, and our Parental Leave enables all CBRE employees (who are primary carers) 12 weeks of paid leave.

‘Closing the gap’ through education and employment opportunities helps to drive a more inclusive workforce. The CBRE Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) does just this and focuses on how CBRE can contribute to greater economic empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The CBRE RAP working group, a body within our DE&I Council, oversees the implementation of these DE&I strategies within the organisation and increases our cultural diversity and awareness.

We believe these activities will provide our people with deeper social consciousness, improve how we meet community needs and help build a vibrant and socially responsible business sector.

Through this commitment to Reconciliation, we launched the CBRE Indigenous Centre of Excellence in 2019, with the aim of increasing supply chain diversity and connecting Indigenous organisations with business opportunities through CBRE and its client base throughout Australia.

As a key component of our Reconciliation Action Plan, the Indigenous Centre of Excellence (ICOE) provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander run organisations with the opportunity to bid for relevant business valued up to AU$50 million annually, as new contracts become available or as existing contracts are renewed. 

In 2020, despite the unprecedented challenges in operating within a COVID-19 environment, CBRE was able to establish strong working relationships, and identify approximately $24 million in opportunities for our ICOE partners. While less than our initial $50 million target, we are incredibly proud that whilst navigating this difficult and changed industry landscape, we were able to remain focused and build a strong foundation for ongoing growth and success.

Beyond the opportunities initially identified, CBRE and the ICOE established a Social Development Initiative in 2021 that will divert a percentage of the profits made through the ICOE back into Indigenous communities. Specific investments will be announced as the program continues, however, CBRE is aiming to improve education and employment options for Indigenous communities as a primary focus.

In 2021, we also launched a Social Development Initiative that will divert a percentage of profits made through ICOE back into First Nations communities, with the primary focus being improvements to education and employment options. 

We’ve also focused on opportunities to make a meaningful community impact. This includes becoming a foundation partner for a new Women’s Empowerment Program at Cowboys House. Through the Women’s Empowerment Program, the young women at Cowboys House will have access to experts and guest speakers, workshops on topics such as self-awareness and emotional intelligence; success and happiness; stereotypes and body image - identifying personal and professional pathways for success in whatever they choose to do. 

ACCESS OUR 2021 – 2023 INNOVATE RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN (RAP)

ACCESS THE CBRE INDIGENOUS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE CAPABILITY STATEMENT 

Ensuring our LGBTQI+ people and broader community feel welcome and accepted by our company has been a key priority for many years. 

Our active BE@CBRE employee group works to ensure CBRE is supporting LGBTQI+ workplace inclusion and that this is embedded and progressed in the way we work with our people, clients, and community. BE@CBRE acts as an advocate and advisor to our LGBTQIA+ employees by fostering a culture and business community in which merit supersedes sexual orientation and gender identity.​

Our LGBTQI+ focus and achievements were recognised in 2021 when CBRE was awarded Silver status in the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) for the second year running. The definitive national benchmark on workplace inclusion judged CBRE as one of the top large companies (500+ employees) across Australia who actively promote workplace inclusion.  

From bush fire and flood relief efforts to sponsorship of the Indigenous community, CBRE Cares leverages the passion and talent of our employees to create real benefit in our communities.

• $20k donated to build homes for homeless youth
• 700+ food parcels delivered to Covid-19 impacted families
• Employee Vaccination drive helped raise over $100K for beyond blue
• $280K raised for bushfire relief
• We donated more than AU$200,000 to the Australian Red Cross in 2020.
• Our Employee Resilience Fund raised US$6.1 billion, helping colleagues facing financial hardship due to a natural disaster or pandemic.

We regularly review our offering and policies, and gain feedback from employees to ensure their mental and physical wellbeing needs. Our Be Well intranet provides employees with a global collection of resources, activities, training and programs dedicated to supporting our people. Some of our activities include:

• Wellbeing & Performance Program with Dr. Greg Wells
• Workplace Safety Month
• Motivational Speakers engaged throughout the year, for example during R U OK? Day
• Local office initiatives through the CBRE Cares Committee
• The health, safety, and wellbeing of CBRE employees and our clients is an essential part of the Property with Purpose mission. Wellbeing integrates with our values, and we define these across five dimensions including occupational, social, environmental, physical, and intellectual.

Our senior leadership team endorses these commitments, and we strive to ensure our employees feel safe and well at work.

Standards and policies

Our workplace safety and wellbeing standards and policies are best in industry, and we cultivate senior leaders who establish a strong tone and ensure accountability. We aim to continually improve our safety outcomes and share what we’ve learned as a thought leader in employee experience.