Property and facilities management for growth industries are experiencing great success

Providing property and facilities management services in a constantly changing economic climate has proven challenging for many real estate services firms. Keeping pace with downsizing strategies, dispositions, staffing movements, real estate financing, and debt scenarios for clients has undoubtedly honed the skills of many in real estate. While some companies are struggling, there are many strong and emergent businesses that are poised for growth and are currently experiencing great success, even in a slow economy. Starting at the End As real estate professionals and advisors to these companies, we can be of great assistance to them in times of change. It is critical that we work closely with the client and look well ahead to determine what the growth pattern may be for their businesses. Aside from the physical real estate itself, special attention should be given to staffing levels, geography, and technology, as they all have a direct impact on the client's real estate. Real estate professionals should be able to help a client lay the ground work for their real estate needs, ensuring results that mirror that of the business's other assets. How large will the client become? Will their physical footprint extend into other cities or states? How many additional staff will be hired? Accurately estimating the ultimate size and scope of the business, and planning with this outcome in mind, is critical to long-term success in managing their real estate. Technology and Work Flow Integrating technologies that streamline work flow and more efficiently deliver the final product is a key component to successful property management. Providing real estate services to a company that is growing rapidly - across vast geographic areas - means providing a network that facilitates communication and accountability. This can be as basic as creating a client portal on a website that promotes information sharing, or the implementation of web-based work order management software to better track and understand work flow and staffing needs. These systems can then be utilized to deliver real-time data to further streamline the process. Work order management tools that integrate wireless and web-based technologies can help a real estate team deliver the highest level of service. Managers and technicians can quickly communicate with clients to address concerns, better schedule work, avoid conflicts with operations, eliminate client down-time, and provide real-time status reports. Stay in Control Many real estate services firms believe that controlling a tenant's real estate portfolio from a central office is the most cost efficient option for clients. In fact, properly assembling regional hubs with a network of skilled managers offers the client a face-to-face contact when needed, and creates a relationship based on reliability and dedication to service not easily duplicated from an office in a different city. Losing control "on the ground" can happen quickly. Personal attention takes on a new dimension when it is delivered in-person on a regular basis. Providing these regional managers with budgeting and reporting procedures will ensure a higher level of service for your client at a lower cost. Measure Success Just as important as understanding the objectives of your client is the ability to measure your success in an accurate and timely way against those objectives. One of the most thorough ways to measure your performance is with a client survey. Surveys should be consistent in their questioning and timed regularly to provide a base level of data that can be built upon to develop an indicator of customer satisfaction. A skilled real estate team then analyzes the results and looks for areas that receive higher or lower scores than the median to better understand how vendors are performing and for any specific concerns at a location. Measured consistently, survey data can provide a window to your performance, and be used to implement significant improvements to client servicing. Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation has over 5 million s/f of commercial space under management in the northeast and in Florida. Providing property and facility management services to growth industry clients has helped them develop a strong management team and impressive client roster while delivering high quality real estate services. Jim Gottstine is senior vice president of Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation, Williamsville, N.Y.