How is technology changing the office property manager’s role?
By Lindsay Pick
When new technology is deployed in your building, it’s tough to know what to do next. Property Managers have been doing things a certain way for their whole career. Now, suddenly, they are supposed to embrace new technology and change the way they work.
To be sure, there are obstacles to overcome. Yet the benefits that await at the end of the road make the work of getting your head around new technology more than worth the trouble. In Commercial Real Estate’s journey toward smarter, more efficient and sustainable buildings, Property Managers are an integral part of the technology adoption process. We at Microshare want to help make the transition be as smooth as possible.
As a Property Manager, what do you do after sensors are installed?
- Take the time to learn a new system: New dashboards, alerts, data. If you have questions, don’t be shy about asking. We’re here to help.
- Inform tenants about new technology installed. Some tenants are hesitant because they don’t understand the reasons behind the new technology;
- Designate a “point person” who will review dashboards monthly/weekly and report useful findings.
Decision making: Data-driven
Think differently about how you gather information on building performance and tenant satisfaction.
- Before: Ask security guards, cleaners and tenants for updates;
- Tenant surveys were common to gauge return-to-office rates, satisfaction levels and general physical comfort.
- After: Now data provides most of the answers.
- A tenant says they are coming back to the office but the data shows low activity levels. Thanks to this insightful data, there is no need to increase the cleaning staff and building resources.
- Using data for cost and labor savings, leasing indications, janitorial activity – all activities that had little or no data to guide you before;
- Provide data to C-suite about your building’s return-to-office indications, physical occupancy in buildings, tenant satisfaction, air quality, and security requirements based on physical occupancy;
- Use data to re-negotiate cleaning contracts or understand when leases may be at risk.
How Occupancy Data Transforms the Way We Operate Buildings
READ MORE: this report outlines how occupancy data can be collected, what it can do to help a building be managed better, and how it can impact the profitability and valuations of the property.
Behavior: Proactive vs. reactive
Encourage colleagues to get on board and reap the benefits of technology.
- Engineers/maintenance staff will now become aware of issues sooner, use preventative maintenance data to improve job efficiency and avoid damage from floods or other issues;
- Cleaners will now use data to know which areas truly need to be cleaned and which were untouched on any certain day. This can stretch cleaning resources in today’s tight labor market.
- Security staff will now have data that can alert them to out-of-pattern activity, unlocked doors and other security concerns they might have missed in the past.
- People going on the roof or in restricted areas, or unusual activity in the building after hours.
The Data is there to help improve the bottom line
- Optimize revenue (NOI) and reduce costs;
- Attract high end tenants who require a smarter, safer and healthier space;
- Retain tenants by providing the best possible services;
- Use actionable data that was not there before to mitigate risks:
- Leaks, poor air quality, unsatisfied tenants, clogged toilets.
- Boost exit valuations by turning inert, brick-and-mortar asset into a Smart Building.
Lindsay Pick | Senior Sales Executive | LPick@microshare.io
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