Corporate real estate strategies: Managing the delivery of optimum solutions

Abstract

This paper examines the creation and delivery of real estate strategies in the corporate environment against the not unusual backdrop of management unwillingness to focus on non‐operational subjects, the problem of business inertia and the protection of old demarcations. While there are often barriers to delivering a co‐ordinated, business‐wide accommodation plan, this paper looks at one route to success:the marketing of the strategy and its delivery to internal customers emphasising the corporate, business division and staff benefits. The tangible proof of the strategy through new and flexible buildings, new ways of working, performance measurement and benchmarking gives the real estate team a powerful array of marketing material. The key is to communicate endlessly about the progress and the benefits that are brought to the business through this targeted approach to space management and delivery. This is an interesting facet of corporate real estate management and one which is essential to a more rapid and less stressful delivery of a programme to provide the optimum portfolio of space and, as a result, competitive advantage to the business.