Seventy percent of respondents to a survey of more than 100 corporate real estate and facilities (CRE&F) executives indicated that they expect to incorporate activity-based workplace design into their businesses, and most anticipate a reduction in square footage per employee. This was among the many findings highlighted in a new report by CBRE, researched in partnership with CoreNet Global, titled, “Managing Global Corporate Real Estate and Facilities.” 

The report details both established practices of CRE&F executives as well as emerging trends that are positively impacting enterprise success. The CRE&F global leaders who contributed to the findings oversee combined real estate portfolios of over 1 billion square feet worldwide. 

Other findings from the report include: 

• The most common CRE&F reporting line is to the CFO (noted by 49 percent of respondents); the second-most common reporting line is to the COO (15 percent), reflecting real estate’s impact on financial performance.
• Formal client relationship management (CRM) and business unit portfolio planning are established practices that will command increasing focus (as noted by 75 percent of respondents).
• 72 percent of survey respondents indicated that they are both building greater strategic capabilities to align with the business and driving greater collaboration with key functional partners (e.g., HR, IT) as part of current innovative / transformational activities.

“CRE&F has steadily evolved over the past several decades to become a widely recognized profession with the potential to make significant contributions to corporate performance,” said Karen Ellzey, Executive Managing Director of Consulting for CBRE’s Global Workplace Solutions (GWS) business. “Our goal is to help bring to the forefront the real estate and facilities practices that enable competitive advantage and shareholder value for our clients.” 

Ms. Ellzey oversees CBRE Institute, which is CBRE’s thought leadership platform dedicated to the advancement of the corporate real estate profession. For the last several years, CBRE Institute has led thought leadership, innovation development, and client roundtables as part of the firm’s Global Workplace Solutions business.