Savills Adds Workplace Strategy Expert

Office users are placing an increasing emphasis on workplace strategy. It has become a way to develop culture, attract and retain tenants and maximize office real estate costs. Savills has long offered workplace strategy consultation as a service, but has now added a dedicated expert to better serve clients. Shannon Woodcock. has joined the firm as managing director, and will focus on workplace strategy and occupant experience. Her appointment highlights the significant role of workplace strategy of office tenants.

“Savills has had a lot of success offering workplace strategy as a service, so it made sense to bring in a professional dedicated to serving L.A. and surrounding markets,” Woodcock tells GlobeSt.com. “Workplace strategy has become an integral component of a suite of services we offer occupiers of office space, but how it’s applied varies by region, as well as by sector and economy. For example, on the west coast, the projects I’ve worked on typically revolve around helping clients find ways to be creative and unique within a set amount of space.”

Workplace strategy goals and needs vary dramatically between industries and tenants. However, efficient use of space, talent recruitment and employee experience are frequently the most widespread needs. “Success is measured against a wide spectrum of variables, but the most prevalent indicator across the board is related to efficient usage of space, and this need tends to increase in higher rent areas,” says Woodcock. “Following that, there is a lot of discussion around attracting and retaining talent. This is always an interesting conversation because workplace attributes that are considered effective in attracting talent for one client may have the opposite impact for another, depending on the culture. The success of the strategy lies in getting to the bottom of what’s truly important to the workforce, which can be difficult to do objectively using only internal resources.”

To develop the most successful workplace strategy, Woodcock recommends starting the process during site selection. “I believe that the right time to engage a client in order to best determine needs is prior to, or parallel with, site search and selection,” she says. “Buildings and developments are playing a more significant role in tenants’ access to and provision of amenities, i.e. on-site fitness, retail and outdoor space. Because these amenity spaces are being factored into RSF values, it is increasingly important that client needs be accurately matched with a prospective site, and not dealt with as an afterthought.”

Savills plans to continue to grow the service platform. “Workplace strategy is a very malleable business in that our services are highly reactive to the behaviors, challenges and needs of tenants and clients,” says Woodcock. “I can’t imagine a world where expanding a team to bring in new and different skillsets and services is a bad idea.”