“A shift is taking place in the office property industry,
forcing fundamental change in the relationship between owners, property
managers and occupiers.” – This is the summarised description given by the British Council for Offices (BCO) in regards
to their latest publication, entitled ‘Office Service Standards and Customer Experience: a Best Practice Guide’, which discusses
how the UK office market is gradually adapting to take on a more
customer-centric approach, with increased emphasis placed upon the provision of
outstanding customer service to occupiers.
The study, commissioned by the BCO Occupier Group and sponsored
by British Land, Broadgate Estates, CBRE and Legal & General, highlights
how new entrants to the property sector are disrupting the norm and accelerating
this shift in the relationship between property owners and corporate occupiers.
As a result, property owners and managers are now realising the need to invest in
building strong relationships with building occupiers.
As stated however these new market entrants are only
accelerating this shift; the primary driving force is in fact the evolving
expectations of clients/occupiers themselves. While the focus in regards to the
provision of great customer service within the industry has traditionally
fallen upon what are known as ‘the 3-Rs’, namely revenue, retention, and
reputation, occupiers are now seeing increased value in so-called “soft” skills
such as empathy, understanding, and trustworthiness, which are now seen by many
as equally important to “hard” financial factors when it comes to encouraging
customer loyalty.
The authors of the report (Howard Morgan, Dr Danielle
Sanderson and Sue Flatto, from the RealService consultancy) state that while
for those who hold “a very traditional landlord-occupier relationship this
change in thinking, attitude and operation may feel revolutionary; what is
clear is that we are seeing the industry evolve across the board.”
The effects of this shift in customer expectations from “space
as a commodity” to “space as a service” are already visible within the offices
of many BCO members, including report sponsor Broadgate Estates. The report describes
how when recruiting customer-facing staff, the company’s head of service
delivery looks for empathy above other attributes so as to ensure that all
candidates can display an understanding for the wants and needs of the client.
Richard Kauntze, CEO of the BCO, said, “For any business to
be successful, continued evolution is necessary to remain relevant and
responsive to change. New entrants in the office market have prompted an
acceleration of this evolution.
“The BCO’s research endeavours to encourage and support
property owners and managers in providing their customers with the very best
experience. It is significant that within the BCO our NextGen members have been
strong supporters of this project. I hope that these rising stars will help
lead the charge on this within their own businesses, as well as providing the
inspiration to others to create and successfully execute new delivery models.”
The full report is available as a free download for all BCO
members; simply follow this link.
Sam Bonson
Sam is an aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers. He is currently working as a content writer, journalist & editor as he continues to expand his horizons.
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