5 Things Your Property Manager Should Offer In 2021

After an entire year of living through ‘the unnamed’ the world has split into two groups of people: the ones ready to respond to drastic change, and the ones who aren’t – including your Property Manager

It has shone a light on the millennial generation, who (if you didn’t already notice) expect flexibility, sustainability, amenity, and experience designed around the user. And trust us when we say, they will not budge for less. 

The pandemic has put innovative, creative and hybrid spaces on a scale against the traditional concept of the office, and it hasn’t been kind to latter. Same thing goes for traditional landlords who have remained resistant to change – reality has struck with the ‘new occupant’ no longer wanting long-term commitments for an inefficient and costly service.

BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL_

The future of property management is right in front of us, and we’d be blind to ignore it and continue business as usual.

To prosper in this new era you need fresh thinking, a disruptive strategy and outstanding execution. You no longer want someone who will simply collect rent, fix things, and have a good contact for a snow removal service… You deserve a property manager who repeatedly adopts necessary change, easily adapts to the future, and takes your property to the next level.

We’ve done the homework for you and have come up with a list of 5 things your property manager should offer you in 2021. 

1. SUSTAINABILITY_

Not a fad, but the future of commercial real estate. Your Property Managers should have sustainability tattooed on their foreheads. And if they don’t, it should at least be engrained in their values. 

The impact of sustainability on decision-making will only continue to grow. By failing to adapt and ignoring efficiency regulations or market expectations, properties are at risk of becoming stranded assets. 

To put it simply: no sustainability strategy? No future. 

Here’s the 3-step sustainability strategy your Property Manager should offer you: 

• Help you understand what you burn, aka what you waste
• Put processes in place to reduce that waste
• Repeat

2. OCCUPANT EXPERIENCE_

Managing a building is now building an experience. Occupants have a voice, when was the last time your Property Manager checked in? 

Just like a waiter cares for your nut allergies, a Property Manager should care for the occupants’ experience. After all, a service is a service, and occupants paying for that service have career goals, wellness objectives and general interests that should match their surroundings, to make life easier for them. 

They want Property Managers to listen to their nut allergies and not forget to tell the chef. 

Experience management is a fantastic opportunity to understand the trends and demands of the occupant. There is tech that lets us achieve much more with less.

3. PROP-TECH_

Tech should be making things better by now. It has revolutionised our homes, and it’s now the office’s turn. Ask Alexa if you don’t believe us. 

It’s time for a tech change in commercial real estate. The opportunities to shape the occupant’s experience with smart and responsive buildings are endless, and they’ve somehow been ignored by Property Managers. 

The tech world is scary for a lot of businesses. It’s an investment, it’s complex, and it’s different than what we’re used to. We have some words of advice for those businesses:

SNAP_

OUT_

OF_

IT_

To prosper, workplaces must be connected and responsive, smart and insightful. So, if you want to reduce long-term costs and improve customer experience, now is the time to invest.

Prop-Tech can help you: 

• Achieve sustainable goals by digitally monitoring & measuring consumption.
• Manage building controls such as air conditioning, heating & lighting.
• Manage flexible demand more efficiently by monitoring live usage of assets.
• Communicate & offer more to occupants via building apps & platforms.
• Drive future building design & service offerings and align occupants’ desires to their real-world experiences — by analysing data.

4. SAFE RETURN TO WORK_

While it feels like lightyears away, there is a world post-pandemic and it will be with us sooner than you think. Let’s get back to the office safely. How is your Property Manager supporting this transition? 

WFH has put a lot of things into perspective, from how much we value lunch breaks with our colleagues and complaining about Karen to your best work buddy, to how little we want to set our alarm clocks back to 5am and spend our mornings crammed in the tube on our way to work. It has shown the best and the worst of both worlds, leaving many wondering which is the better option.

News flash, the office hasn’t died and won’t be dying anytime soon. There is such a thing as the perfect in-between and your Property Manager should be way ahead of the game with this. 

Human interaction and community are still key selling points of workplaces and cannot be replicated. But we no longer want to squeeze ourselves in as much. We want more collaborative spaces in varying formats: like booths and breakout areas.

Far from becoming redundant, the office will play a pivotal role in the next era of business life.

5. COSTS_

No one has money to burn, especially in a pandemic. Your Property Manager should be getting the most out of your assets while supporting its occupants. 

Are you investing in technologies that will increase the value of your property? Are you accommodating to sustainability and the savings it can create? The occupant is changing, there’s no doubt about that. Your Property Manager should adopt those changes in your property to benefit you from the rewards of premium rents, enhanced capital values and fewer operational headaches.

TIME FOR AN UPGRADE_

It’s simple. If sustainability, customer experience, prop-tech buildings, a safe return to work, and costs aren’t a priority for your Property Manager, you need an upgrade. TSP is here to help.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

• Check out our case study on turning an old warehouse building into a sustainability hero with an EPC B rating.

• The TSP Reboot – find out what the future of property management looks like with our blog post.

• EPC regulations are changing. Find out what this means for landlords and property owners.