With the growth of the Bucharest office market to 2.3 million sqm, office buildings become more and more important in the recruitment and retention of employees. The new wave of employees is more demanding in terms of office life concepts and expects a building to offer, besides a modern working space, a community to belong to. According Colliers International Romania, in the coming years, property management services will influence the level of employee satisfaction.
Millennials, more than any generation, are looking for fulfillment both at home and at work. Thus, to come to an office that looks and feels inspirational, which engages them in various activities, becomes a feature that the new generation not only looks for, but also awaits. They want schedule flexibility, freedom in choosing where they work and prefer to spend their earned money not on goods, but on experiences.
„In an office project, the role of a property manager is not just to provide a functional building for tenants and to increase the value of the building for the owner. Today, a property manager has to create more than a comfortable place for end users to work in and to facilitate experiences by creating a community at project level”, Oana Adjudeanu, Director Property Management at Colliers International Romania, said.
„For us, the idea of community begins when the building is delivered and the launching event is organized, when all the parties involved in the construction are being celebrated and the future users welcomed. Their involvement at this early stage contributes to the creation of a common story, the building’s and the tenants’”, Oana Adjudeanu added.
It is already common practice for most companies, on the first day after the move in the new offices, to offer employees a welcome kit, therefore making the accommodation as easy as possible. As the representative of the owner, Colliers International completes this experience by providing materials on how to use the new space and what facilities are in the area, but also by welcoming employees with different snacks and treats.
„In order to maintain employee involvement in the life of the project, we have assigned a Community Coordinator that comes up with different concepts of events that we implement in the buildings in our portfolio, regardless of their size. There are different types of events, adapted to the project, but most often there are networking or wellness (health and sports) events, craft workshops, concerts or contests. The feedback from tenants is extremely positive”, Oana Adjudeanu added.
In implementing actions meant to develop the community around the office building, it is very important for the property management team to have the support of the owners, who understand the benefits and importance of creating a bond between employees. Subsequently, the participants' feedback is analyzed in order to be able to correctly assess the actions that have been carried out and to plan future activities. This community concept can be applied to both older and newly delivered projects, since the idea of a community is ageless and adaptable. New projects certainly have the advantage of a design that, in most cases, provides for a common space, like a plaza, where events can be organized, or for less conventional places to work.
„The impact of creating a community, although not yet measured, is expected to translate into employees that are more engaged in the company's work and culture and that will convey this state of well-being to their team and management. Therefore, companies will decide to stay with an office owner who understands the challenges raised by the new generation and who invests along with the employer in the retention of his people”, Oana Adjudeanu concluded.
Starting this year, Oana is the director of the Property Mangement division of the Real Estate Management Services department at Colliers. The administered office portfolio of the team has 280,000 sqm and includes Vox Technology Park (Timisoara), The Landmark, The Bridge – phase I, Phoenix Tower, Construdava, Art Business Center (Ponderas Academic Hospital), Hermes Business Campus, Green Court Bucharest, Ethos House, Polona 68, Stefan cel Mare Building (Bucharest) and Allianz Office Building Brasov, and is complemented by three industrial parks in Timisoara, Brasov and Arad.
