Twenty-first-century CRE business models: Promising transformation

Abstract

Following up on a paper published in the November 2010 issue of the Corporate Real Estate Journal, the author observes trending in corporate real estate (CRE) groups’ progression towards working in a 21st-century business environment. Although the two-year interim is seemingly too brief to see significant movement in an industry which does not move quickly in many respects, a number of results are illuminating. Some companies have completely reorganised their CRE group (typically due to realignment within the company), a new customer-centric mindset is taking hold, sustainability is moving ahead (albeit slower than expected) and alternative workplace strategies continue to grow. At the same time, visibility at the C-suite level is improving communications with management, metrics and strategic vision are getting more attention, the appeal of outsourcing has fluctuated but clearly is here to stay, silo thinking is somewhat receding, more companies are getting the point that technology is an enabler and not the solution, and collaborative teaming across time and space still has excellent potential. Somewhat on the downside, relationship management is not trending up, while ‘knowing what business we're in’ and aligning with the corporate mission continue to have mixed results. Overall, achieving the 21st-century CRE business model has shown steady, if uneven, progress in the two short years since the previous report.