"What is your (weird) agenda?"

I'm asked, by CRE incumbents (confused and frustrated by my stance).

In one word - change.

They say: "offices are changing and there has always been change."

Yes, but at a snail's pace.

Here are the main shortcomings of the status quo:

Inflexibility

'Customer' is often substituted for 'tenant' in a superficial way.

Listen, understand and develop solutions (both physical spaces and services) which meet the needs of the customer (and ultimately the end user) dynamically.

This means spaces which are simple to acquire and readily available, which can adapt and evolve in life with the minimum of fuss.

It means commercial terms and legal agreements which are intelligible, balanced and practicable, not the treacle we are still served (even for some serviced offices).

And it entails responsibility, accountability and transparency

N.B: what better exemplifies the lack of customer approach, than the tendency to blame and threaten people for not taking on more space and not returning to it en masse during Covid?

Environmental degradation?

Don’t show me a certificate claiming a new build is sustainable.

Demonstrate how it was a necessary improvement to what it replaced.

And even better, do the difficult thing, refurbish, adapt and reuse.

Do we really need to rip everything out with a change of occupant for a new ‘hero fit-out’? (thinking of dilaps arguments here too)

Does the building do the utmost to encourage people to use and travel to it sustainably? How does it accord with the local area?

Exclusion

Despite some evolution, dinosaurs still roam.

CRE will only succeed in future, through reflecting its customers and end users.

Diversity at all levels isn’t just a moral imperative, it’s a commercial one too.?

Much of this is driven by the current funding model, as well as the mental inability to 'park' the past and move on.

But no amount of greenwashing, flex-washing or rebadging as 'customer led' will suffice.

So here are a few suggested fixes:

1) Building owners should provide an end to end service on a transparent basis and which they are accountable for (from fitout to connectivity, through bolt on amenities to facilities management of their dedicated space). They should give their customers a menu of options to choose from. Where practicable this shouldn’t be exclusive, but if the options are good enough then why would the customers buy in a service from someone else?

2) Proper standard form agreements (big UK issue). Not sure where to start. Every time someone uses the word standard I inwardly sigh. It’s reinventing the wheel every time, trying to sand down a square rim to make it round. Start with indemnity, alterations and sharing provisions.

3) ‘Deep pan’ distributed working options. Yes the serviced and co-working sector is growing, as are the platforms to access it, but more substance and variety is needed, especially in the regions. And yes this is driven by demand, but demand will also be driven by demonstrably good multi-site solutions with a good geographic spread (as happens in any other industry). This of course brings us back to the funding point and the willingness of building owners to ‘get their hands dirty’.

4) Showcase what you are reusing and adapting, whether fabric or fitout. Encourage and support your customer to do the same. And consider renting as well as recycling (Furniture as a Service, for example).

5) Think about the balance of who you employ and work with, but also the way work is done and language used. It’s for good reason that so many people find old fashioned rants from CRE off putting.

What we need is the reinvention of real estate.

And you haven't heard the last of it.

#CREalchange