Real Estate is increasingly being viewed as an asset capable of driving business performance.
That’s the telling conclusion underlined by a new paper from CBRE Group, Inc., part of its “thought leaderships series on workplace performance, examining the role of the workplace in promoting employee engagement, attracting and retaining talent, and better serving customers.”
The CBRE paper asserts that “while cost savings has traditionally risen to the top of the priority list when evaluating real estate, a recent survey of global occupiers conducted by CBRE showed a number of drivers ranking above cost when it comes to workplace strategy. Among them: The attraction and retention of talent, the drive for better collaboration, increased employee productivity, and improved business agility.
“Workplaces have become much more than just a few desks, printers and a coffee machine,” said Lewis C. Horne, CBRE President for the Greater Los Angeles and Orange County region. “Today, workplaces can give companies an edge as an employer and competitive market player. Office environments need to be focused on state-of-the-art technology, collaboration and such aspects as wellness to be able to hire and retain top talent.”
The CBRE paper outlined four key steps that successful companies employ when creating a workplace experience that fuels employee engagement:
• Know your users and what they need to be effective.
• See your office as the center of a network of places where work gets done.
• Meet your people’s basic functional needs first.
• Design for delight: building on the foundation.