CHICAGO-Companies are increasing their demand for maximum productivity and smart growth, a shift from the focus on cost control that came with 36 months of turbulence in the corporate operating environment. So says locally based Jones Land LaSalle in its inaugural Jones Lang LaSalle and Thomson Reuters’ Global Corporate Real Estate Survey.

According to the report, as companies emerge from the global financial crisis they are seeking to restructure and plan for a new economic era, which is placing more pressure and scrutiny on the productive use of corporate real estate. “This presents a powerful opportunity for CRE teams to drive strategic change and bring added value to their wider businesses,” says the report. “CRE teams will be required to respond with greater agility, expediency and productivity, increasing their reliance on outsourced service providers.”

The survey drew responses from more than 500 CRE executives across the globe, including China, India, Australia, UK, France, Germany and North America, and across a variety of industries, including banking and finance, pharmaceutical, government and IT. According to JLL, this is the firm’s first global effort to formally identify the future challenges facing the CRE industry and the likely consequences over the next three years.

“This survey gives us an unprecedented window into the mind of the CRE community, as well as the global business marketplace as a whole,” explains Stuart Hicks, CEO of corporate solutions at JLL. “Corporations have clearly shifted from short-term, survival motivated tactics towards medium-term, strategic initiatives aimed at driving productivity enhancements.”

Hicks adds that “Driving improved productivity by implementing more strategic real estate initiatives can release tremendous value given that real estate typically accounts for 7% to 12% of a corporation’s total operating costs.”

Robert Ciemniak, global head of real estate markets at Thomson Reuters adds that “These survey results should also be of interest to the investor community, as they point at important cyclical and structural shifts in demand for space, as well as operational priorities for the tenants.”

According to the report, as corporations globally responded to tightening financial conditions and shrinking revenues, attention predictably turned quickly towards real estate. This pressure was firmly felt by CRE teams across the world with 97% of survey respondents supporting their business with one or more tactical real estate plays to reduce cost.

Now that corporate health is improving, firms are turning to growth strategies that balance the dual forces of growth and cost control, the report points out. When asked what will be the most influential factor in shaping real estate strategy in the next three years, growth was the standout response at 35%, followed by cost pressures at 11%.

“CRE teams will be challenged to drive increased productivity through real estate while pursuing portfolio growth alongside continued right-sizing,” Hicks says. “Many will need to progress their journey along the outsourcing curve and partner with specialist real estate service providers in order to effectively meet these challenges. For those already at the head of the curve, re-evaluating existing relationships will ensure full value and benefit is being extracted.”

Among the top influences on future real estate strategies, 77% of survey respondents identified the need to attract talent, the quest for enhanced productivity, right-sizing the portfolio for a new organizational reality or a desire to change the culture and nature of work.

The survey also revealed that respondents are seeing a return to growth in select geographies. Approximately 39% of respondents anticipate an increase in the total size of their global real estate portfolio over the next three years, while 31% predict a reduction.

And while most corporations today are in a stronger cash position, according to JLL, there are still hurdles inhibiting broad real estate moves. Some 43% of respondents cited “uncertainty around future shape/size of business” as the obstacle preventing them from executing desired strategies during the financial crisis, and 29% cited “economic uncertainty.” More respondents listed “uncertainty and risk minimization” as a factor shaping their real estate strategy three years from now than today (22% vs. 25%).

When asked for legacies of the global financial crisis, 92% of the respondents cited “greater visibility and engagement with senior business leaders” with 90% stating they had gained “greater visibility and ability to influence business decisions.” Eighty-one percent of respondents maintained that the CRE function had been placed under greater scrutiny by the wider business since the onset of the global financial crisis.

When asked which scenarios were most likely within the next three years, 77% stated “CRE leaders to be more actively involved in developing and implementing organizations’ strategic direction.” Respondents firmly believe that transformations in the role and structure of the CRE function are underway and will intensify over the next three years, says JLL. “There is a clear opportunity for CRE leaders to redefine their organizations and drive a more strategic real estate agenda as the importance of this role continues to broaden in board room across the globe,” says Hicks. “We expect to see fundamental and sustained changes in the structure and remit of CRE teams across the world and stronger engagement with outsourced service providers as they progress toward partnership with 80% of respondents planning to either fully or partially outsource their CRE functions within the next three years.”

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