Pros
CB Richard Ellis is the largest commercial real estate company in the world. CBRE has over 300 offices, spread amongst 50 different countries. Due to its impressive size, CBRE has access to numerous resources that other real estate companies do not possess. There is a reason why CBRE is consistently ranked as the number one commercial real estate company in the world. However, at least in the office I have experience with, the main benefit of CBRE is the people of whom it is comprised. My office had an incredible amount of passionate and intelligent brokers- most of whom probably could have had leadership positions at another real estate company. The managing director was a great leader, and he took great pride in the fact that he had formed a superbly skilled and cohesive team of brokers. Every single one of them knows exactly what they are doing and how to make a great deal of money for the company. However, these brokers are not all about money. They care about each other and love to team up and offer information whenever it makes an associate's life easier. All of the non brokers in the office, from the office manager down to the receptionist are always treated with the utmost respect. At CBRE, if you want to advance, you simply have to put in the hours. CBRE has great training programs that prepare its young employees for the industry quite well. Thus, all each individual needs to do is try his or her hardest. If he or she is doing a good job, he or she will be rewarded. Another great thing was the office atmosphere. It was never boring or stuffy- all the employees are constantly engaging each other in friendly ways. Their always appeared to be a great deal of camaraderie in the office throughout the whole day. The senior leadership is great- if they need to lead, they will lead, otherwise they let their employees due what they are hired to do, which is always a relief. I have never worked in an office that had such high morale before. Most cubicle-styled offices resemble the movie "Office Space," where the employees are constantly bored and depressed. That was never the case at CBRE! Every person seemed generally happy to be there. Many of the employees are good friends outside of work and often meet up for lunch, drinks or dinner. In conclusion, CBRE is a great place to work- partially because of its vast resources, but mostly because of the high-quality of the average employee.
Cons
Sometimes the chain of command can be a little confusing. Its not that their is isn't great leadership, its just that it sometimes appears like their is unnecessary overlap of responsibilities amongst those with leadership positions. Thus, sometimes in-job communication can break down a little bit. An example would be if a team of researchers got a very similar assignment from two different brokers, they aren't always able to consolidate. Its usually not a problem, however. On occasion, interns are given assignments which have almost no practical value to the company. Also, interns are often relations of the senior brokers in the office, making it difficult for aspiring real estate brokers to get an internship. Other than that which is stated above, there really isn't anything major wrong with this company. They do a great job.
