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Mounting C-suite demands for productivity is creating a “pressure cooker” of expectations for corporate real estate (CRE) teams, a new JLL global report has revealed.
Tracking insights from 544 CRE executives worldwide, 39 percent of whom were in Asia-Pacific, the survey details the C-suite’s growing recognition of CRE and the corresponding pressure on CRE teams.
“Today in Asia-Pacific C-suite executives have an unrelenting focus on wringing the maximum productivity out of their office space. In response, CRE executives must use increasingly sophisticated data and analytics to make their facilities portfolios more efficient,” said Jordi Martin, JLL CEO of Corporate Solutions, Asia Pacific.
“Speaking to CRE professionals in the region, we’ve found that the most pressing challenge they are facing is the need to balance cost reduction with value creation. But while we are seeing that the CRE function is rapidly maturing, its transformation from tactical manager to trusted advisor is far from complete,” he adds.
JLL’s third biennial Global Corporate Real Estate Trends report shows that CRE teams are even more challenged to transform their role from order takers to order makers today than in the firm’s last survey in 2013. More than half of respondents report even greater C-suite expectations in nearly every category.
A concerning 15 percent say that they are poorly equipped to meet the increased demands – a proportion that has doubled since 2013. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who say they are “well-equipped” has fallen from 28 percent to 17 percent. Lack of access to data and analytics was the top-rated constraint limiting further development of the CRE function.
Top C-suite demands to CRE teams includde:
- Share CRE decision-making with the business. C-suite leaders expect their CRE executives to enlist business leaders in making facilities decisions. Sixty-two per cent of CRE executives report increasing C-suite demand to present scenarios and solutions to the business, and nearly 70 per cent report increasing demand to challenge the business about its presumed space needs.
- Improve workplace and workforce productivity. CRE teams are at the forefront of creating a more positive experience and increased effectiveness in the workplace. Sixty-two per cent of CRE teams see increasing demand from leadership to enable more flexible working, and 59 per cent see increasing demand to support cultural change.
- Improve asset and business productivity. The C-suite also expects improved productivity across the corporate real estate and facilities portfolio, a complex goal with many moving parts. In 2015, six in 10 CRE teams report pressure to improve the productivity of the physical real estate assets, a significant increase over the 47 per cent reporting this pressure in 2013.
According to Martin, the most effective means to transform the CRE function in a business is to prioritise people and people skills. This combined with a strong data and analytics platform will facilitate smarter corporate real estate decisions.
“The key both in Asia and globally is a business-aligned approach that prioritises data science, proactive leadership and predictive analytics,” said Martin.
“Without this shift, CRE teams will continue with ‘business as usual’ instead of breaking through to the next level.”
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
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