In increasingly competitive economies, the workplace is now seen as one of the crucial pieces for improving productivity.
How productivity is being tackled is changing. If productivity is a function of ‘reducing inputs’ over ‘increasing outputs’, the first part of the equation is still often addressed first. For example, Australia resource giant BHP Billiton’s CEO Andrew Mackenzie recently pledged to “unlock more cash from [their] installed capacity by pulling the productivity lever very hard.” However, ways to increase outputs are now being paid a lot more attention. In particular, attracting and retaining the best talent and providing them with an environment where they will strive and grow (i.e. work efficiently and effectively) is recognised as a major competitive asset.
At the same time, the productivity imperative is increasingly intermingled with sustainability considerations. This is the case at the Toyota Corporation, where one of the support functions is a Productivity & Environment Group of which the head reports to the CEO. In addition to a proven track record of cost savings (reduced energy expenditure, fewer sick leaves, etc.), the payback of green initiatives extends to boosting worker productivity. “Numerous studies have shown that employees enjoy work more and are more productive when they see their companies acting in a socially-responsible manner,” said Dan Probst, Global Chairman of Energy and Sustainability Services at Jones Lang LaSalle.
In this context, corporate real estate (CRE) teams are mandated to participate more than ever to their overall organisation’s productivity endeavours. While enhancing the productivity of the real estate portfolio emerged in our 2011 report as a best-in-class companies feature, the findings of our Global Corporate Real Estate 2013 survey show this is now a high expectation across the board.
C-suites are also awakening to the fact that, beyond the workplace, CRE decisions have the ability to improve people, business and asset productivity. Workplace transformation projects are an opportunity not to be missed to touch all four components in a coordinated, instead of isolated, manner. Close collaboration with other corporate functions will help CRE teams achieve optimum results.
Source: Jones Lang LaSalle, Risks Ahead- Global Corporate Real Estate Trends 2013
In Asia Pacific (APAC) there is clearly room for improvement. As many as “40% of employees feel there isn’t enough collaboration in their workplaces,” according to a Microsoft survey in APAC in 2013. While new workplace philosophies such as Activity Based Working are being embraced by more Australian companies, only cutting-edge companies have so far demonstrated an experimental streak in this regard in the rest of APAC. India’s leading travel planning and search engine is one of these. With its office space accommodating impromptu gaming breaks, ixigo.com has just been named one of the top 15 ‘Awesome Startup Workplaces’ to work for in India. Time for the C-suite to shake up their workplaces!
Read more on how workplace trends play out in the region in our Global Corporate Real Estate Survey focus reports: Australia, Japan, and soon India.
