CBRE’s New Technology Fills Gap for Small Office Users

CBRE has launched a new tech tool targeting small office users, GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively. Spacer, as the tool is called, will manage workplace strategy and office layouts for small companies of 15 to 300 employees, with architect-ready floorplans, recommendations for desk configurations and offices and ideas for collaboration space. The tool also has advice to enhance employee wellness and collaboration. We sat down with David Freitag, an associate with CBRE’s advisory and transaction services group, to talk about the new technology and how it will help small companies organize their workplace strategy.

GlobeSt.com: What was the impetus to develop Spacer?

David Freitag: Spacer is the solution to a fairly large gap we identified in our service offering for companies in the 15- to 300-person range. Workplace strategy has become such an important topic for companies of all sizes. Many of the larger firms already use workplace strategy to a great extent as part of their real estate process but smaller companies often don’t have that kind of access and yet are just as interested and often even more in need to design an efficient and engaging place. In that, a product such as Spacer makes a huge amount of sense to start the conversation with clients around their office environment goals.

GlobeSt.com: Tell me about the software, and how it will help companies with their workplace strategy?

Freitag: The goal is to gamify a rather arduous programming process. Users answer a series of 17 Profiler questions, designed to identify the company’s unique characteristics, priorities and office environment goals. The recommended results can then be modified, visualized in 2D and 3D by using our proprietary Floored technology and can be saved and shared with colleagues. It can then be handed off directly to an architect to space plan.

GlobeSt.com: This software is specifically designed for small companies. Why is it important for companies of all sizes to develop a workplace strategy?

Freitag: As I mentioned previously, designing a workplace is an important part of a company’s strategy in their effort to stay competitive, efficient and to attract the best people. I partner with a lot of smaller, start-up type firms. Their primary focus at that stage is to make their product or services successful, but you need people for that. The best people. There inevitably comes the moment when a company needs to think of how it wants to accommodate their growth and evolution. In other words, agility is key. We just released a study on this very topic and workplace strategy is a major component in it. No matter how big or small, it is important to remember that you need to be nimble, to be mindful of operating costs, to create the ideal setting for innovation and to keep your employees happy and healthy.

GlobeSt.com: How have companies/clients responded to the software?

Freitag: Many of our clients that have tried it thus far have been impressed at the accuracy of the output. It’s essentially being described as the “Easy Button” for initial programming.

GlobeSt.com: Why is technology like this a good way to tackle workplace strategy?

Freitag: The most common form of programming we see from our clients is contained within excel documents. The challenge with spreadsheets is that most companies don’t understand what questions they should be asking. Spacer comes from the opposite end of the spectrum, utilizing very targeted questions and high-level metrics to drill down to a custom-tailored recommendation. Technology is only as effective as the quality of the data that fuels it, and this tool, we feel, will help smaller companies take a much more targeted and informed approach.