Business Management Management Strategies
July 1, 2008
By: Amanda Marsh, Associate Editor
Clients and tenants are more sophisticated, informed about and demanding of facilities services. "They know their needs and the possibilities,” explained Burke Real Estate Group director of property management Ken Wheeler. That provides an opportunity, though, for facilities managers to improve the quality of their customer service.
"Servicing clients is No. 1 in our industry, so if they call, we call back,” said Wealth Capital Management Inc. senior property manager Vincent Croce. “If they e-mail us or write a letter, we respond. You can't let people slip through."
Ian Marlow, president & CEO of Newmark Knight Frank’s global management services, emphasized that, despite the perception of decreased face-to-face contact between facilities managers and their clients, real estate is still a people business. Interpersonal relationships enable a manager not only to solve problems as they arise but also to anticipate what clients will need.
Set the Bar
Chris Muszynski, executive vice president & director of managerial operations for HSA Commercial Real Estate, recommended starting on that relationship during lease negotiations. A clearly defined service-level agreement that outlines such factors as task frequency forms the basis of the client’s expectations, agreed John Kreiger, who leads facility management operations for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s corporate strategic alliances as a senior vice president. "They may want you to mow the lawn 26 times a year or close their books quarterly," he said.
Once standards are established, facilities managers need ways to gauge their success at meeting expectations. Jones Lang LaSalle uses key performance indicators to establish priorities. For example, does the client want Jones Lang LaSalle to maintain its budget within 2 percent of the expected cost, or would the client prefer that the manager complete 90 percent of its agreed-upon routines? Newmark Knight Frank facilities managers sit down with clients on a semiannual to annual basis to discuss 25 varying key performance indicators. "They change very often, based on the objectives of our corporate clients," Marlow said.
Firms also use surveys to measure performance against expectations. Each year, Wealth Capital uses a CLO Associates survey that allows clients to rank a firm’s management skills across nine platforms, including problem solving, responsiveness, property appearance and quality of management and maintenance. The first time the survey was used, in 2005 at Bank of America Tower at International Place in Miami, Wealth Capital achieved a grade of 85 percent. Wealth Capital has since raised its score for that property to 93 percent. "The surveys helped address areas that needed help, and we were able to stay on top of tenants' concerns," Croce said.
SL Green Realty Corp. assesses tenant satisfaction using a Kingsley Associates survey of 47 questions through which tenants rate service on a scale of one to five. The survey measures performance against previous years and benchmarks firms against othes in the Kingsley Index. According to SL Green Realty executive vice president Edward Piccinich, his company continuously reviews procedures and performance through Kingsley’s services as well as internal databases and Workspeed performance software.
Fill the Gap
Of course, to really understand a tenant’s needs, facilities managers can visit sites for face-to-face meetings. Sheldon Gross Realty Inc. vice president and property manager Marcy Gross visits each of her firm’s 17 New Jersey buildings at least once a week. "You build relationships by showing response to their needs, so we drop in to make sure everything is OK." During its site visits, HSA Commercial allows tenants or clients to accompany managers on inspections to better grasp the client’s concerns. Regardless of the frequency, other managers cited the value of consistency.
Ultimately, though, simple communication does not cut it, Piccinich warned. "Talk is cheap. Tenants want to know how long (projects) will take." Centralized software operates as a clearinghouse, receiving tenants’ requests for service, dispatching work orders to engineers and updating clients about progress. When a GVA Williams client submits a request to Angus Systems Ltd.’s Angus AnyWhere software, for example, the person receives confirmation that the request is in a queue, engineers receive work orders via BlackBerries and orders are closed only upon a client’s OK. The software also flags tickets that require a purchase.
According to GVA Williams senior vice president Bob Frankel, "It's much different from the old days, when you had to call a super and never knew where you stood."
For more business stories, visit www.commercialpropertynews.com/cpn/business-specialties/index.jsp.
By: Amanda Marsh, Associate Editor
Clients and tenants are more sophisticated, informed about and demanding of facilities services. "They know their needs and the possibilities,” explained Burke Real Estate Group director of property management Ken Wheeler. That provides an opportunity, though, for facilities managers to improve the quality of their customer service.
"Servicing clients is No. 1 in our industry, so if they call, we call back,” said Wealth Capital Management Inc. senior property manager Vincent Croce. “If they e-mail us or write a letter, we respond. You can't let people slip through."
Ian Marlow, president & CEO of Newmark Knight Frank’s global management services, emphasized that, despite the perception of decreased face-to-face contact between facilities managers and their clients, real estate is still a people business. Interpersonal relationships enable a manager not only to solve problems as they arise but also to anticipate what clients will need.
Set the Bar
Chris Muszynski, executive vice president & director of managerial operations for HSA Commercial Real Estate, recommended starting on that relationship during lease negotiations. A clearly defined service-level agreement that outlines such factors as task frequency forms the basis of the client’s expectations, agreed John Kreiger, who leads facility management operations for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s corporate strategic alliances as a senior vice president. "They may want you to mow the lawn 26 times a year or close their books quarterly," he said.
Once standards are established, facilities managers need ways to gauge their success at meeting expectations. Jones Lang LaSalle uses key performance indicators to establish priorities. For example, does the client want Jones Lang LaSalle to maintain its budget within 2 percent of the expected cost, or would the client prefer that the manager complete 90 percent of its agreed-upon routines? Newmark Knight Frank facilities managers sit down with clients on a semiannual to annual basis to discuss 25 varying key performance indicators. "They change very often, based on the objectives of our corporate clients," Marlow said.
Firms also use surveys to measure performance against expectations. Each year, Wealth Capital uses a CLO Associates survey that allows clients to rank a firm’s management skills across nine platforms, including problem solving, responsiveness, property appearance and quality of management and maintenance. The first time the survey was used, in 2005 at Bank of America Tower at International Place in Miami, Wealth Capital achieved a grade of 85 percent. Wealth Capital has since raised its score for that property to 93 percent. "The surveys helped address areas that needed help, and we were able to stay on top of tenants' concerns," Croce said.
SL Green Realty Corp. assesses tenant satisfaction using a Kingsley Associates survey of 47 questions through which tenants rate service on a scale of one to five. The survey measures performance against previous years and benchmarks firms against othes in the Kingsley Index. According to SL Green Realty executive vice president Edward Piccinich, his company continuously reviews procedures and performance through Kingsley’s services as well as internal databases and Workspeed performance software.
Fill the Gap
Of course, to really understand a tenant’s needs, facilities managers can visit sites for face-to-face meetings. Sheldon Gross Realty Inc. vice president and property manager Marcy Gross visits each of her firm’s 17 New Jersey buildings at least once a week. "You build relationships by showing response to their needs, so we drop in to make sure everything is OK." During its site visits, HSA Commercial allows tenants or clients to accompany managers on inspections to better grasp the client’s concerns. Regardless of the frequency, other managers cited the value of consistency.
Ultimately, though, simple communication does not cut it, Piccinich warned. "Talk is cheap. Tenants want to know how long (projects) will take." Centralized software operates as a clearinghouse, receiving tenants’ requests for service, dispatching work orders to engineers and updating clients about progress. When a GVA Williams client submits a request to Angus Systems Ltd.’s Angus AnyWhere software, for example, the person receives confirmation that the request is in a queue, engineers receive work orders via BlackBerries and orders are closed only upon a client’s OK. The software also flags tickets that require a purchase.
According to GVA Williams senior vice president Bob Frankel, "It's much different from the old days, when you had to call a super and never knew where you stood."
For more business stories, visit www.commercialpropertynews.com/cpn/business-specialties/index.jsp.
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