Ditch Cookie Cutter Spaces to Get the Best Tenants

Modern Workers Expect More

In an always-connected, fast-paced world where technological and economic forces are changing by the day and business agility reigns supreme, one daily environment that has been slow to keep up with the pace of change in the office. Fortunately, commercial real estate executives have realized that the old model of cookie-cutter office cubicles with their lack of focus on design does not align with our modern, innovative workforce. Today’s workforce expects more from their office environment, and tenants require landlords to provide greater flexibility, employee experience, and technology.

FLEXIBILITY

The prototype of an office was based on the need for physical proximity between workers in order to get work done. Technology has to a large extent made that need obsolete and replaced it with the demand to attract and retain the best and brightest talent. In their search to find the ideal balance of cost efficiency and employee productivity, tenants and commercial real estate execs are migrating to activity-based workspaces. With this new model, a variety of individual and collaborative workspaces are designed to support diverse work needs.

Flexible office spaces offer many benefits including reduced costs, flexible lease terms and satisfying short-term needs. Creative workplace solutions like co-working and new seating allocation standards, such as assigned versus unassigned seating, can help keep environments highly efficient and designed to quickly adapt to future needs.

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

The market demand is high for work environments with amenities that offer ease and convenience. Some of the core experiences that must be met are: employee choice of where and when to work, access to convenient public transit, a high quality work environment, and seamless technology.

According to the 2018 Americas Occupier Survey Report, 81% of commercial real estate executives perceive amenities as essential to the employee experience.  Examples of amenities include lounge areas, lunchtime classes, healthy cafes and flexible meeting spaces. The importance of amenities was followed by flexible work structure and public transportation.

TECHNOLOGY

We’ve all heard of the Internet of things (IOT) and smart phones, but the future of commercial real estate is about creating smart buildings. By incorporating technology into the building itself, the environment evolves along with the highly educated, technology-dependent workforce. Integrating innovative technology into the workplace creates value by presenting new opportunities for data management and analytics as well as enhancing user experience.

41% of real estate executives responding to the 2018 Americas Occupier Survey Report believe that technology will have a moderate-high impact on the real estate industry in the next three years, and 50% of them plan to increase their real estate technology investment in the next 1-3 years.

TouchSource electronic directories, interactive touchscreen kiosks, and digital signage solutions are ideal ways to help real estate execs incorporate technology into their buildings and create smart buildings of the future. Our interactive touchscreen directories incorporate software to provide information quickly such as maps, access to virtual receptionists, directories and much more.

59% of real estate executives plan to use apps for occupants to navigate the built environment more efficiently. TouchSource’s digital wayfinding does just that by displaying floor plans for each building that include highlighted and animated paths to destinations. You can also incorporate mobile wayfinding on smartphones and tablets.

To find out more about how our interactive directory systems and solutions can help you create smart buildings and attractive workplaces, contact us today!

SOURCE:

CBRE 2018 Americas Occupier Survey Report