Lift performance, technology and indoor quality top factors in choosing offices: CBRE
Building services that support indoor environmental quality, lift performance and technology are among the top factors that drive the building selection decision, according to CBRE’s latest report.
However, current satisfaction levels amongst occupiers reflect the largest gaps between what is currently being offered and occupier expectations of these fundamental base building services.
As technology continues to evolve, the way we work is changing, creating the flexibility to work how, when and where we want; this can drive greater efficiency, supporting business growth as well as individual choice and work-life balance.
The war for talent continues to be a major focus for most organisations as they seek to attract and retain the best people.
Greater awareness is now being paid to the demands of staff and increasingly we expect to organisations evaluating their offerings to their people through location and building selection as well as workplace design.
There are now four generations represented in the workplace and this is resulting in a much more diverse workforce with differing needs and desires.
The CBRE Australian Millennials Survey: Myths and Realities revealed some of the demands of the Millennial generation around the workplace, with some surprising results.
Wellness and relaxation facilities ranked as the most influential amenity Millennials would desire when considering a new job.
At the same time, this factor also represented the biggest gap between desire and current provision in the workplace.
So what does this mean? A greater need for alignment in the real estate decision-making process between corporate real estate and human resources will emerge.
While corporate real estate has traditionally placed the greatest importance on cost, the core offering and base building services, there will be a greater shift towards the appreciation of the cost and value of an organisation’s people and ensuring that their demands are met.
This will drive an increasing demand for some of the softer tenant services and building differentiators such as wellness facilities and customer experience offerings such as concierge services.
According to CBRE’s Occupier Survey, the trend for workplace design is heading towards a more agile workplace format or one which endangers higher performance amongst employees.
An increasing number of occupiers planning a near-term redesign indicated they intend to implement this style of workplace format.
Occupiers who had redesigned in the past two years and adopted a more agile workplace format reported higher success ratings in achieving a number of business objectives, particularly around the areas of achieving knowledge sharing, collaboration and effective use of space.
They also gave the highest ratings in terms of their new workplace format increasing employee productivity, helping to attract and retain staff and improving the on-boarding of new and junior staff.
A high performance workplace format should be designed to enable employees to do their jobs in the most effective and efficient manner whilst also inspiring them and supporting their comfort and wellness.
Ultimately the goal of a high-performance workplace is to increase employee productivity and thus business profitability.
The next frontier in the evolution of occupier demand will be the expectation of an enhanced customer experience offering.
There is an increasing recognition that the customer relationship is now evolving beyond that of the landlord and the representative of the tenant that signs the lease.
It is now extending to include occupants of and visitors to the building.
With more diversity in the workforce, a more flexible approach to work and an increasing focus on wellness and work-life balance.
It will be imperative for landlords and building managers to ensure they are delivering an enhanced customer service experience to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace and strengthen the landlord/occupier relationship.