Tomorrow’s workplace today: Part 5 – Ten key steps for investors and asset managers

There are 10 key steps that the long-term investor/asset manager can take right now to ready their office portfolio for the future:

1) Feed into the new commuter “hub and spoke” movement

People may consider much longer commutes if they are only working two or three days a week in the office. Be alert to that change. Invest in commuter suburbs and cities with good liveability and walkability scores. These should be value add investments, with short to mid-term redevelopment opportunities from which to create an “office of tomorrow” product offering.

2) Create a boutique operating model within your business

This is especially pertinent for multi-tenanted office buildings where the owner is largely responsible for providing and servicing amenities, systems, common spaces and reception areas. Work in partnership, as part of a management contract or joint venture, with a best in class Workspace as a Service (WaaS) operator. Trial your “proof of concept” and position yourself as an active office operator. The investor’s negotiation leverage to set up a win/win partnership with a WaaS operator has never been as strong as now.

3) Systematically review and challenge all major refurbishment and redevelopment projects

New design concepts, systems and materials must suit the healthy and sustainable office of tomorrow. Maintaining the status quo in this respect is not merely a backwards step: it is a headfirst leap into obsolescence, loss of value and wasteful capital expenditure.

4) Establish a “pandemic-mode”

Pandemic-ready existing office buildings by setting the strategy in each building, and for each system, via the formation of a “pandemic mode button” within the Building Management System. Do so with a robust set of management protocols to be developed with each building’s Facility Manager. Ensure that the transition into “pandemic mode” can be made quickly.

5) Roll out micro sensors and IoT on a few buildings first

Pilot new data-led approaches in select locations and, crucially, in conjunction with your end-users and/or operators. Learn from them, and then roll out best practice in managing health, wellbeing and productivity across your portfolio. Ensure that design for wellness is informed by the data, as well as the capabilities of a smart, connected building.

6) Harvest data from existing sources

Existing systems such as your Building Management System, lifts and access controls are rich in vital data. Use it in conjunction with data gathered from new applications (see step five, above). Also, incorporate feedback from your tenant portals and customer experience platforms (available off-the-shelf for rapid implementation) to improve tenant experience and sustainability. Ensure property and facility management teams are able to react quickly and appropriately to what the data is telling them.

7) Invest in your Facility Managers

They are the backbone of any healthy, productive office building. They should not only be knowledgeable technicians, but tech-savvy and trained in customer service. Roll-out a comprehensive training program. If you outsource your FM services, work with the supplier to ensure the training and qualifications they offer are right for your buildings.

8) Adopt or develop a “healthy building” assessment tool – and roll it out across your portfolio

Do this in partnership with a recognized market player. Create a “label of good health” with sufficient gravitas and credibility to become a value creator.

9) Fully leverage tenant engagement portals

If done properly, you can create a bespoke communication tool and protocol for pandemic crisis management. You can then offer this as a service to the end user to enhance their experience. Include a self-health checklist and “heat map” the workspace to provide extensive desk occupation choices.

10) Continually scout the PropTech and GreenTech scene

Become an early adopter, even a co-creator, of the apps and tools that will keep your portfolio of office assets a step ahead of the competition.

The pandemic is not the first crisis to impact value in the built environment and nor will it be the last. Over these last few months, we have not started out on a new path; we are travelling in the same direction, but we’re moving faster.

There is no turning back from the tech-enabled world of work. Investors in the habit of passive management and non-engagement with their assets or tenants are going to struggle. Now is the time to change old practices, to embrace design and technology, adopt new ways of working, deepen relationships with tenants and focus on environmental factors. We are redrawing the office blueprint – grab a pen!