Case Study: Colliers International (EMEA) cuts agency spend and achieves over 80% direct hires with SmartRecruiters

How Colliers EMEA Reduced Agency Spending with SmartRecruiters

Colliers EMEA, the regional arm of global real estate firm Colliers (4,000 employees across 42 countries), faced a decentralized hiring model with no standard applicant tracking system. This led to inconsistent candidate and recruiter experiences, difficulty sharing best practices, and limited visibility into applicant trends—hindering the company’s ability to mature its talent strategy and support growth.

By implementing SmartRecruiters, Colliers standardized hiring tools, recruitment marketing, employer branding and analytics across offices. The rollout drove strong adoption (88% of relevant staff), boosted careers-page engagement, and delivered measurable results: a consistent direct-hire rate >80%, agency sourcing reduced to ≤7%, a 25% year‑over‑year increase in first‑year retention, and significantly lower agency spending—while improving overall hiring quality.

Colliers International

Ben Handyside

Director of Talent Management