Page 59 - RC21 EDGE Summer Issue

CORPORATE REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES – Continued from page 45
amenities. To make your buildings a destination of choice, you need to consider every aspect of the employee and tenant experience.
– Do you have a process for managing secure access for employees and visitors?
– Does your office design include a variety of comfortable spaces where employees can meet and also work quietly without distractions?
– Are you paying attention to air circulation and humidity levels?
– Do employees and tenants have access to self- service technology that helps them navigate your buildings, manage reservations, and make requests?
While reducing costs has traditionally been the top priority for CRE leaders, Verdantix principal analyst Susan Clarke said improving the comfort and well-being of employees are now the biggest concerns.
By making your buildings a destination, you can elevate your real estate beyond an expense to a source of profit.
Develop a roadmap for PropTech investments
A company’s ability to adopt digital transformation is a strong indicator of its future success, according to Deloitte’s 2021 commercial real estate outlook.
Unfortunately, many CRE leaders believe their company’s real estate technology is more advanced than it actually is. Over half of corporate real estate executives who participated in Deloitte’s survey said the pandemic uncovered critical deficiencies in their companies’ digital
capabilities that have kept them from fully implementing new initiatives.
As new PropTech emerges and becomes more intertwined into corporate real estate operations, this digital divide will only continue to grow. That’s why it’s critical to evaluate your existing technologies and develop a plan for future investments. Before you can begin to take advantage of any new technologies, you need real estate management software that gives you full visibility into occupancy, costs and space utilization. You need to be able to forecast dif- ferent space and seating scenarios and see how they will impact your portfolio. You also need to be able to make adjustments as fast as conditions change.
Technology that can consolidate real estate data from multiple sources into a single platform allows you to see the metrics that matter most. It can instantly create new floor plans for physical distancing, and plan and execute office moves. Such platforms integrate easily with sensors and other building management technologies to give you additional insights and capabilities.
Although the way employees use the office has changed, demand for high-quality office space hasn’t. For corporate real estate leaders who have access to real-time data and technology that helps them adjust to changes as they happen, the opportunities are endless.
Chad Smith is VP of Product Strategy for iOFFICE, a technology company transforming the way corporate real estate leaders and facilities managers manage buildings and employee/ occupant experiences.