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Real estate: Cost centre or profit enhancer?
Corporate Real Estate Journal,
3
(3),
234-243
(2014)
Abstract
In a world of volatile economics, the demand for improved profitability is on the rise. It is this trend that has led to the development of new thinking that challenges the traditional approach to the provision of workplace optimisation. This trend has been identified from the perspectives of management consultancy and workplace design and gives rise to an alternative paradigm to the current cost-driven model. The alternative model is reliant upon greater engagement from all areas of an organisation and a refocusing of the role of real estate and facilities management departments to deliver a more holistic view of the options open to a business facing change. This refocus provides options that not only deal with potential cost-savings but also increase bottom-line performance through greater efficiency and productivity. Armed with these options, senior management can make informed decisions regarding which changes will offer the most benefit to their particular organisation and operations. This paper hopefully will encourage wider consideration of how real estate is both used and valued and what it can contribute rather than being consistently perceived as a cost centre.
Keywords: optimisation; human capital; workplace; efficiency; profitability; productivity; real estate
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Steve Wright has a wide range of architectural and interior design experience acquired over 30 years of industry practice. His background includes work across the fields of leisure, retail, commercial, occupational strategy and branding. In his role as Projects Director of TTSP, he has worked with many clients in determining optimised strategies for premises development and occupation. This process involved the development of working briefs that not only dealt with the aesthetic qualities of space but also extended to the enabling of an organisation and its workforce to deliver day-to-day tasks efficiently and productively. His experience has highlighted the variable methods of brief assembly, ranging from the visionary to the wholly practical. In addressing the starting point of any project, Steve has been keen to develop standard briefing processes that give a clear vision not only of what is required in the workplace but also why it is required.
