The Real in Commercial Real Estate

Author: Ryan Dennis –

No matter how much technology makes people’s lives easier, nothing can replace the human touch when a client needs help. People love speaking to a live person when they need assistance or especially when they are having an issue. Human to human contact provides the service assistant with the chance to exercise the ‘monogamy of customer service’ with their clients. I always try to make my customers feel like they are my only customer and it really strengthens the relationship between my client and I. Good customer service is not a game, a trick or something that can be enhanced with any apps, etc. Good customer service is being responsive and a resource to the customer. – Annie Smith, Director of Client Services,  Genea

At Genea, we love educating ourselves and others about the evolution of the commercial real estate industry. Earlier this year my colleague Crystal Romero wrote a wonderful article entitled The Art of Customer Service with Annie Smith about taking care of our clients and customers. If you’re reading this article, then you’re quite familiar with the power of using technology to connect with your network of friends and family. Let’s explore the potential of technology when influencing our business relationships. It seems remaining connected may grant us the ability to empower our relationships, yet not to completely replace them.

Relationships & Technology; Through the Years

Not even the latest, patented, revolutionary technology may replace trust. Even the fastest, most comprehensive platform may not replace integrity. No marketing campaign or impressive presentation may replace business camaraderie.

We earn respect with sincerity, hard work, and genuine compassion.

Many characteristics contribute to success in our industry. The most well-respected professionals are those who practice a balance of hard work, technology, and empathy for others. Just ask some of commercial real estate’s most well-respected celebrities influencers.

The Influencers Who Keep CRE Real

Let’s take a look at the open, and honest thoughts of a couple of them — starting with Barbi Reuter.

I haven’t even touched on Duke’s impact on massive firms and promising startups across the United States. He is as smart, compassionate and funny as twenty people, we may need Duke Long’s leadership more than we think. I may be biased. Duke Long has given me more recognition and support than anyone else this year. You know what’s funny about that? Some of the most influential CEOs, investors, and leaders in commercial real estate would utter those exact same words.

There is a direct correlation between strength of leadership and the amount of extra effort people put into serving customers. Great leaders understand their internal customers – their employees. They understand what motivates them, what inspires them, what pleasure they can get from giving great service.  – Derek Williams

The point of including Duke and Barbi’s messages is this interesting fact: our industry’s biggest advocates for technological revolution are also CRE’s greatest champions for unity and inclusion. They encourage us to innovate our workflow as well as our hearts and minds. How real is that?

When we explore thoughts from inside and outside of CRE, it’s plain to see technology is not much without excellent human-to-human service. However, Duke and Barbi are not the only ones who aim to make our CRE community more collaborative and humanistic.

Words from the Wise

Let’s take a look at some of the most useful and honest remarks in commercial real estate over the past year from some respected real estate service professionals and influencers.

These people may be some of the most quotable advocates for the  industry’s well-being yet they do way more than just talk. These are hard-working CRE professionals, providing daily value for their customers, just like you. Here are their roles:

1. Barbi Reuter | Tucson, Arizona – ‎Chief Operating Officer of PICOR – ‎Cushman & Wakefield
2. Duke Long | New York, New York – ‎Managing Partner at PUR Ventures | DukeLong.com
3. Pierce Neinken | San Francisco, California – ‎Global Portfolio Manager at Airbnb
4. Mariel Ebrahimi | Greater Boston Area – ‎Co-Founder & CEO of DisruptCRE
5. Anthony Dominguez | New York, New York – Co-Founder of AtlasX.co
6. Kathryn “KJ” Juneau | Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Commercial Sales & Leasing Advisor at SVN | Graham, Langlois, & Legendre, LLC
7. Antony Slumbers | Guildford, United Kingdom – Digital strategist & Founder of Glasnost 21
8. Gip Erskine, CPM, CCIM | Vice President & Senior General Manager of Transwestern, Founder of EverSmart

All of these people regularly share quotes with a similar sentiment: how may we approach the intersection of technology and real estate productivity, not just for themselves, but for the sake of the entire industry. Other notable influencers would include Julie Augustyn of Foundry Commercial as well as Kevin Maggiacomo who was recently named “The Diversifier” by Real Estate Forum as one of 2016’s Best CRE Bosses.

With Great Power Comes Even Greater Responsibility

All in all, it’s obvious technology allows us to communicate on a social level which normally wouldn’t happen in business. With social media and thousands of new digital tools to choose from, it is vital we uphold our responsibility, as human beings, to an even higher standard than ever before.

A collective vision of a smarter, global community is worth daydreaming about. Yet, there is still hard work to do.

The term technology expert may be an oxymoron. When it comes to tech, we don’t know anything.  New innovations come and go daily. Revolutionary disruptors affect change, then dissolve, and bizarre trends become standards. This is the new normal. The best part about working in commercial real estate is that the ground is evolving beneath us.

There is a technological awakening happening: everything normal about today will become passé. Cars won’t need drivers and phones won’t need chargers, for example. None of us know what the future holds yet we do know grasping desperately for the past only holds us back. A collective vision of a smarter, global community is worth daydreaming about. Yet, there is still hard work to do.

Nearly every article marrying technology with real estate touch on new ways to save time, money, or energy. Yet what exactly are we saving all these for?

Essentially, we all want to save time, money and energy for ourselves and others. We are human. What we really want is more time to dialogue, more time with friends and family, and liberation from the laborious processes of yesteryear. Join me in making the rest of 2016 the year we empower real estate to bring people together in meaningful ways.

Positively influencing relationships with the hidden power of the built environment — that’s what makes commercial real estate real.

The New Workweek

If you woke up tired, mounting evidence would suggest your boss may be the key to a better night’s sleep. You’re not alone.

An overwhelming majority of people are locked into a set schedule too. According to the University of Kent, only 5% of workers across Europe have complete control over what time they have to head to the office. Is flexible working an answer for you, your office or for the entire company? Managers should consider the arguments for allowing workers more autonomy over their schedules. Experts find that allowing workers control over their workweek may improve performance outcomes and productivity.

The status quo is a pain for millions

An overwhelming majority of people are locked into a set schedule too. According to the University of Kent, only 5% of workers across Europe have complete control over what time they have to head to the office. Is flexible working an answer for you, your office or for the entire company? Managers should consider the arguments for allowing workers more autonomy over their schedules. Experts find that allowing workers control over their workweek may improve performance outcomes and productivity.

Studies across the world are pointing to flexible working schedules improving productivity, sleeping patterns and better health. One recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) study reported that 30% of people are getting six hours of sleep or less a night. Penn State University performed a study based on the CDC survey. University professors dove into the pros and cons of flexible working for 474 employees. The evidence was crystal clear:

“At 12 months, the researchers found that employees who participated in the intervention experienced an average of eight minutes more sleep per night, which is nearly an hour more sleep per week, than the control group. Intervention participants’ perceptions of their sleep sufficiency also improved.”

Flexible working improved sleeping time; providing workers with improved focus, health and ideation capabilities. This is significant news for business leaders who depend on the tireless efforts of their staff to compete.

Robert Montenegro touched on the importance of prioritizing workers and their considerations above all else. “When valuable members of that workforce request a little more flexibility, the supervisor tasked with granting or denying the request needs to consider morale and talent retention in his or her cost-benefit analysis.” Can you afford to offer 9–5’s when many other firms in your industry are getting more productivity out of their flex-schedule staff?

What’s going to keep them from leaving your company and doing their best work, on their terms, for one of your competitors?

Montenegro’s views are thoughtful and based on his reaction to this wonderful Forbes piece by Victor Lipman entitled, ‘How Important Is Flexible Work? 43% Choose It Over Pay Raise’. Here, Lipman hits on the realistic challenges of creating scheduling flexibility and the evidence of its cost-effectiveness. He found, through his own experience that flexible ‘working time was always highly appreciated and very good for employee morale.’

Following the recipe carefully

Not everything that glitters is gold, however. In Australia, the difficulties of implementing flexible working are difficult for the employees as well as the human resources department. Human Resources Media Online offered some helpful tips for resolving flexible friction in the workplace:

“Schedule inflexibility is one of the top reasons Millennials quit their jobs.”

As a business owner, there are risks to not even considering a flexible working environment. According to iOfficeCorp, in the next four years, Millennials will make up an estimated 46 percent of the entire workforce — so keeping them happy is critical. But Millennials aren’t the only ones looking for flexible scheduling and work-from-home opportunities. Worldwide, 43 percent of workers said they were willing to take flexible work hours over a pay raise.” Millennials aren’t going anywhere and they’re expectations are higher than their predecessors. This evidence suggests that the typical worker in 2016 cannot necessarily be bought. People across the world are beginning to weigh their time as equally (if not more) valuable than the check hitting their bank account every two weeks.

The New York Times has chimed in too: “Most companies have already come around to seeing that flexibility is important for recruitment and retention of employees: 63 percent of employers already allow ‘‘some’’ employees to work from home on an occasional basis, according to one major study, up from only 34 percent as recently as 2005.” The trend of flexible work is not going anywhere and is coming to the forefront of executive level negotiations. This quote comes from a remarkable story in a recent collection of studies from The New York Times Magazine entitled, “Rethinking the Work-Life Equation.” The piece touches on how certain firms are augmenting the idea of office culture altogether by acknowledging their employees’ demands outside of work. Speaking of being outside, our work schedules may have larger consequences on the environment than we think.

This post by the London Business School Review has a wonderful take on the environmental impact of flexible working. “Bringing people into the office has a huge carbon footprint, so it makes sense to encourage them to stay at home or work in hubs.” It isn’t just Earth who gets hurt by companies thoughtlessly following traditional working cultures. A company’s bottom line can also take a hit from everyone coming to work at the same time every day because that requires larger office space and higher rent. Additionally, a company with an attractive flexible working policy is an attractive proposition to highly-skilled workers who may be able to earn more elsewhere without the same benefits. Attracting talent is just as important as keeping your best employees and flexible working may play a role there, too.

Are you ready for your next annual review?

A recent study by Unify, reveals that 43% of employees surveyed would prefer flex work over a pay raise. “Employees are serious about flex work,” said Bill Hurley, Chief Marketing Officer at Unify. “In addition to nearly half of all employees preferring flex work over a pay raise, nearly one-third said they would change employers if offered flexible work elsewhere. It is time to get on board — business leaders who ignore the Flex Work Imperative could find themselves suffering the loss of their best employees.” A flex work schedule and no raise is a win / win situation for both the employee and employer. The employer just saved paying an extra 15% to their employee and the employee now has the ability to improve their work / life balance, productivity, and health. This leads to our next argument: flexible working is not necessarily the answer for everyone.

One interesting finding is that having more autonomy does not always lead to better work / life balance. What researchers found at the University of Kent is that when people are given more control over their work, they actually tend to ramp up their workload and work intensity. This could be explained by a number of things. Some employees may feel more pressure to work harder because they want to show their managers that they’re appreciative of their new schedule, especially if they no longer have to tackle a long commute as often.

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How flexible is your workweek?

Let me know @ Ryan Dennis Live on Twitter.

The Hottest Question in Commercial Real Estate

Have you ever been so hot you felt like you couldn’t even move? You’re not alone. Business productivity gaps and property management mishaps lead to yearly declines in efficiency and revenue. For years, property managers and business owners in the United States have fought issues due to the summer’s warm weather.

If we want to properly prepare for the summer’s humidity and temperature, we must first be honest about the reality of the effect this season has on us.

If you’re already melting from the current heatwaves of summer, it’s not too late to make things right. Guarantee your own summer comfort by asking yourself these questions:

• Is my office “summer-ready” today?
• Am I ready for to battle the summer productivity slump?
• Is your property ready for the wear and tear of battling the summer heat?

Here are a few cool, fool-proof ways to the defeat the heat:

Check meters for accuracy

Without fail, a big expense this summer will be air conditioning. Your firm should avoid getting cheated by your own energy equipment. If your firm houses data servers in your office like we do, you must protect them from heat damage at all costs. According to OpenXtra, server room temperatures should not dip below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and should not exceed 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you’re blasting A/C to keep those server rooms cool, chances are you’re being billed incorrectly for it. Click here to learn more about submeter tenant billing for supplemental equipment. Thousands of commercial office meters have inaccurate multipliers that end up overcharging tenants. When was the last time the property team double-checked their submeters? Send them this article for a quick-fix education which may save money and headaches.

Decrease your air conditioning run-time

To be comfortable and productive, occupants of a building need an indoor environment that matches. Whether you’re in an office building or a university library–running air conditioning for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is a thing of the past. Using the building’s equipment too much may damage the building’s air conditioning (and heating) capabilities.

If your air conditioning system is not functioning in its ideal state, your energy costs will increase.  – Heidi Schwartz

Perfect your workplace’s air quality

Preventative maintenance is a crucial component in perfecting air quality. All HVAC units will need a thorough inspection to ensure proper working condition. Also, air filters should be clean if not then replaced to protect indoor air quality. Before the summer temperatures heat up, this is a crucial component of preventative maintenance.

People and Their Workplace Environments

There is no point to a commercial office building existing without any tenants to occupy it. Let’s go over the delicate relationship people play in their workplace environments.

People at Work

Temperatures Vary Upon Season

Indoor Air Quality

People

Pressure

Pathways

Pollutants

The Human Body

 

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Smart building technology empowers property teams to keep cool, save money, and satisfy occupants. Are you missing out? Take a second, talk to the property team, and genuinely answer the hottest question in commercial real estate for yourself:

How cool is your property?

The Scariest Question in Commercial Real Estate

We talk about innovative technology trends emerging in commercial real estate every day and night. Funny new buzzwords like drones, blockchain and virtual reality consume most of our attention yet seemingly have very little to do with our daily lives. In fact, many of the new services we talk about regularly are still being embedded into our society’s version of normalcy.

 

Property Managers Need Partners, Not Vendors

The heart of commercial real estate lies in the properties and the people who manage them. Amazing men and women are changing the science of management within the built environment. It’s time to give them credit and a helping hand. No more grumbling about the slow adoption of technology in real estate.

From now on, the onus falls on service providers to step up their game. Today, real estate technology firms must become better suppliers, communicators, and partners.

For example, modern smartphone technology has been around since 1996. It wasn’t until Apple released the iPhone in June 2007 that smartphone adoption exploded. Why complain about real estate’s glacial pace to technological upgrades?

It’s time for CREtech firms to become better partners. Here are a few steps you can take:

You are Only as Smart as Your Building

Commercial real estate is an industry focused on the properties that hold the very fabric of our society together. Our high-rise buildings are the nexuses of where we practice business and serve as symbols for our growing nations. Commercial real estate technology (a.k.a. ‘CREtech’) illuminates the future of these living environments and provides a new vision for our city skylines.

However, at the very heart of the CRE technology industry today is smart building technology, which allows us to express our technological advancements while finally creating equilibrium with the world around us.

Ryan Dennis Named Among “44 Commercial Real Estate Experts You Need In Your Life”

This weekend I was shocked to see my picture and name alongside the top thought leaders and media juggernauts in Commercial Real Estate. Check out the article here.

Engineer to Leader in 6 Steps

The Institute wrote about a survey that says engineers don’t have what it takes to be CEOs. Despite these results, I happen to disagree.

Looking back in America’s history, some of the greatest business leaders were engineers: John Frank Stevens, Henry Ford, Jimmy Carter, Herbert Hoover, the list goes on.   Thomas Edison is one of the most notable American engineers and businessman. Somewhere along the line, something changed.

According to Business Insider, today an impressive 20 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs have a degree in engineering. However, there is an opportunity for many more to become leaders. Here are the ways engineers of today may garner the respect and confidence to lead tomorrow.

What Tenants Want

 

Tenants are the heart of any office building.

Property management teams can’t afford to miss a beat when it comes to the evolving standards of enhancing a tenant’s experience. Based on transactional activity and tenant feedback in 2014, Knight and Frank assessed 5 current occupier trends.

 

Change Your Office, Change the World

LinkedIn’s office at the Empire State Building.

Here are the 10 innovations I’ve noticed being chiseled world-wide and changing the way we live at work.