Colliers: Companies have started adding positions such as Workplace Experience Manager

The hybrid working system, which combines remote work with in-office presence for the entire team, has remained in practice in many companies even after the end of the pandemic, but the number of employees returning to the office is growing, note consultants from the Asset Services department of Colliers Romania, which manages about 640,000 square meters of real estate, nearly 600,000 square meters of which are offices.

“A clear sign that the office is no longer seen as a cost center, but rather as an essential space for people to connect and work to their full potential through new office life experiences, is the emergence of new positions in corporate organization charts, such as Workplace Experience Manager. Another important trend is large companies’ requirement for a minimum number of days in the office. This underlines the importance of human interaction and organizational culture for employee motivation and also indicates a change in the approach to work-life balance”, says Oana Adjudeanu, Head of Business Operations Asset Services at Colliers Romania.

Colliers currently has a total of more than 300 tenants in the buildings it manages in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, and Brasov, and the value of the properties in its portfolio exceeds one billion euros. After careful monitoring of the projects they manage, Colliers consultants observed an increasing trend in office working days. Specifically, the number of employees working in office buildings rose from 40% in the first quarter of 2023 to around 55% in the first quarter of 2024. This assessment includes Mondays and Fridays, which significantly influence the average attendance from Tuesday to Thursday. This development is also reflected in the analysis of traffic at the main metro stations in Bucharest, where significant changes in peak-hour flows to and from work have been noted.

“We organize various events for tenants as part of several projects we manage, including competitions, workshops, charity events, educational sessions, and exhibitions. We were pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of our tenants and their willingness to actively participate in creating more opportunities to interact and meet in the office. The direct benefits are clear – even in a digital and remote working environment, human interaction helps maintain corporate culture, increase productivity, and, most importantly, improve staff retention. In other words, the connection we have with our colleagues makes us feel good and motivates us to come to the office, even if it means spending at least an hour in traffic”, adds  Oana Adjudeanu, referring to a recent global survey which found that over 40% of employees, when asked why they come to the office, said it was important to them to see what other colleagues were present that day, and over 30% were guided by company event.

Colliers Romania annually manages Service Charge budgets totaling over 26 million euros and optimizes costs for companies that have opted to outsource property management. Contracting Asset Services underlines the professional approach that developers and owners of office and industrial space take towards their tenants, generating economies of scale and benefits such as a significant contribution to the implementation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments, the integration of optimized software and applications, and unified reporting of financial data related to the operational status of the site.

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Colliers’ Property Management division takes a multi-disciplinary approach to each project, covering a vast number of activities through the services offered. Specifically, it ensures technical and operational building management, addresses tenants’ needs and requirements, and ensures that tenants comply with their contractual obligations. At the same time, the company manages property-related financial services (invoicing, payments, revenues and expenses, reconciliations) and reporting activities to the landlord, ensuring the operational link between tenants’ and landlords’ needs.