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— Office Properties Quarterly — June 2016
A
ccess to talent is the primary
decision criteria for today’s
corporate real estate deci-
sion makers, while manag-
ing occupancy cost is the
second critical factor, according to
our 2015/16 Americas Occupier Sur-
vey. The primacy of talent is a sig-
nificant change from the past, where
cost was the top factor.
In the survey of 229 corporate real
estate executives, 50 percent cited
availability of talent as the factor
that drove their office space site
selection decisions, with cost factor-
ing in heavily only after the market
decision was made. Only 31 percent
of the executives surveyed said cost
drove their office market location
decisions.
Workplace strategy is dominat-
ing the corporate real estate agenda
because of the need to attract and
retain talent and, driven by esca-
lating real estate cost, the need
to increase the efficiency of and
the bottom-line contribution of an
investment in office space. Faced
with a workforce that is more gen-
erationally and ethnically diverse, as
well as more selective in choosing
where they want to live and work,
corporate real estate directors are
challenged to create a workplace
that will provide an edge over their
competitors in attracting the best
talent to their organizations.
The most sought-after talent
places great importance on the abil-
ity to connect with colleagues and
the resources needed to be effective
in their jobs, as well as the ability to
work when and where they choose.
Both of these require giving employ-
ees seamless access to the best tech-
nology available,
on the device and
platform they pre-
fer, anywhere they
choose to work. In
addition, they value
the ability to col-
laborate and social-
ize with co-work-
ers, and they seek
workplaces built to
foster collaboration
and community.
“It’s not surpris-
ing that employee
engagement has
become a strategic
priority of corpo-
rate real estate executives, given the
huge role the workplace plays in
how we build and maintain relation-
ships,” said Georgia Collins, senior
managing director of workplace
strategy with CBRE. “Even though we
can work virtually from anywhere,
many people still prefer to meet and
connect. Organizations must work to
make their offices a destination – a
place where a diverse group of indi-
viduals wants to be.”
The need to attract and retain top
talent is impacting more than just
real estate location decisions. Talent
and real estate are two of the larg-
est cost categories for companies,
and corporate real estate executives
are focusing on how real estate can
enhance their organization’s perfor-
mance.
By creating high-performance
workplaces, companies can attract
the best talent, maximize productiv-
ity, increase engagement and com-
munity, and enhance their corporate
culture. With this combination, a
company’s real estate can be con-
verted from a passive and costly
necessity to an active contributor to
a company’s success that drives pro-
ductivity, profits and entity value.
Workplace Strategy
Understanding the how, what,
where and why of the way people
work is the foundation of creating
a high-performance workplace to
attract the talent needed to compete
effectively in the market. To accom-
plish the goal, corporate real estate
executives need empirical data that
will allow them to design, build
and equip spaces to enhance every
aspect of their employees’ experi-
ence.
Workplace strategy differs from
the traditional design process
because it is driven by data rather
Greg Holm
Senior vice
president, CBRE
Denver Occupier
Advisory and
Transaction
Services, Denver
CBRE
A survey asking for the top factors considered when selecting a market found that occu-
piers primarily are making people-centric decisions.
CBRE
Of the features identified as most important to the labor force, connectivity and flex-
ibility ranked highest.
Market selection factors
Workforce demands
Market Trends
