What do you do for a living?

When the answer is "I'm an Owner's Rep"; a simple question like that can generate a lot of follow-up questions and more than a few confused facial expressions. How could you explain the industries supported, the juggling of multiple priorities, the education to experience journey all in a single sentence? The tasks of an Owner's Rep are as varied and ever changing as the clouds passing through the sky. From working with a client's legal team on lease reviews to analyzing construction supply chains to balancing design intent with budget while embedding into a client's culture; a singular definition to fit all the layers of the role can be complicated. Let's start with the basics, what's in a name.

Owner's Representative is…

A delegate selected to act and speak on the owner's behalf. Specifically within commercial/corporate real estate industry, the maturation of outsourcing and intricacies of project deals have accelerated companies of all sizes to engage Owner's Reps as a risk mitigation strategy. Controlling project scope and monitoring schedule & budget are commonly known as the three legs of project management and form the basis of success for many projects. However, in today's evolving world of construction, the legs of project management risk look more like a spider web. At Strata, we know Owner's Reps must possess both technical expertise and an owner's mindset to deliver on an ever expanding set of project goals. We lead multi-disciplined teams to assess emerging risks and develop project plans that bring owner's visions into physical spaces to enable their business to thrive.

An Experienced Guide

The training, knowledge and background of an Owner's Rep is critical to mitigating risk on a project. Many times, this resource bring hands-on practical experience across the design and construction industry that businesses don't possess in-house. In other situations, the complexity of a project may dictate an Owner's Rep provide specific, technical competency to supplement the owner's team. In either case, project expertise is simply the starting point. Often, the Owner's Reps will be the one member of the project team tasked with organizing the owner's internal procurement, IT and security teams. Skills in construction delivery methods, knowledge of emerging supply chain risks and a keen understanding of the construction marketplace are ways an Owner's Rep creates value for an owner outside of traditional scope/schedule/budget management. In addition, Owner's Reps are uniquely positioned to counsel clients and their internal business units on which emerging trends from proptech are most likely to add value to their business. From BIM to Virtual Reality to site video capture, the options can seem limitless. Owner's Reps streamline options and recommend best path forward both in the short term for the project and in the long term for business operations.

A Team Builder

The differentiator for any Owner's Rep is not just their experience with the specific project type or industry, but more times than not it is their ability to rally a team through a shared consciousness. With so many interconnections across project teammates and opportunities for misalignment, Owner's Reps must be master team builders focused on creating trust-based relationships. Creating this transparency across a project team and the client's goals may seem counter-intuitive to driving bottom-line savings on a project. Our experience, along with decades of psychological research from the likes of Abraham Maslow and Stanley McChrystal, make it clear the fastest way to create a high-performing team is through a shared consciousness and a singular set of goals. Understanding how individual teammates interact and shaping opportunities for their success throughout the project life cycle is based on #empathy and a relationship approach to projects. Whether through organizing a new team around a new client or focusing a project tested team of designers/contractors, skilled Owner's Reps make team building seem effortless through a combination of emotional intelligence (EQ) and expert-level communications.

At Strata, we leverage over 45 years of global experience to streamline the many layers of a project for our clients. We like to think?we’re?the essential, protective layer allowing owners to maintain focus on their core business and operations. We provide a steadfast?presence to the team for expert advice and a promise that your project will be thoughtfully?planned and meticulously executed.?

So next time you hear something like; I reduce a business leader's risk through development of a cohesive project team of experts with a focus on delivering shared goals for our client's projects. An appropriate response might be, "I see, you must be an Owner's Rep." Chances are you'll have just made their day.?