The Leader - November/December 2007 - (Page 44)

real e stat e ma NaGemeNt Getting It Right: Achieving Long-Term Value from Your Real Estate Investment by elIzabeth kING forstNeGer the basIc strateGy to fINDING the rIGht place to Do busINess Is to coNsIDer your busINess Goals aND revIeW optIoNs. sometImes lost IN the process of fINDING the rIGht place to Do busINess Is the NotIoN of DoING busINess rIGht IN the proposeD locatIoN. T he selection of the “winning” site does not ensure longterm value for your company. Critical to the site selection process is planning for investments beyond the space itself. A company that implements a strategy detailing how and where to best invest resources to further capitalize its real estate investment may ensure that a location decision doesn’t become a long-term operational mistake. strateGy oNe: people INvestmeNt Training matters, but getting the right people in the door at the beginning is even more important. Perception of a company in the market begins early and is usually persistent. The buzz begins prior to arrival. To ensure longevity and secure the best workers, many companies try to find mar- kets where they will be perceived as the “employer of choice.” There are two routes to achieving “the employer of choice” status: be a pioneer in a low-cost third-tier market, or head to a market with a critical mass and established competition for labor. The latter is the more popular route with specific tactics for mitigating risk. Naturally, wages rates are a major determinant of the success of a new company in the market. Once the wage rates of the major competitors are ascertained, the new employer offers more to attract attention from the labor market. Sizing up the competition can be done with both primary and secondary research by consulting firms. Secondary research can be achieved by benchmarking wage rates. Using the new employer’s job descriptions, a consultant who has invested in up-to-date wage data 2 0 0 7 the le aDe r can provide wages by position and level of experience. Primary research is done in the market itself, leveraging relationships with local economic developers and workforce placement agencies. Primary research can be invaluable. For example, in one instance, one of Grubb & Ellis’ consultants learned from a conference attendee that AOL was about to raise its contact center wages by 20 percent in the market in which a client was on the verge of entering. The client looking to enter the market was able to reconsider the size of the local labor market and number of AOL employees to make as an informed decision as possible. Once a company begins to become established, it can fine tune its recruiting to attract the top candidates. For example, Lowe’s director of recruiting, Catherine Keown, reports that “[Lowe’s] wants new 44 November / December

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - November/December 2007

The Leader - November/December 2007 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Investing in India 110 to One Smaller Workspaces, Better Workspaces Innovating the Workplace Through Design Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Getting It Right Using Location Intelligence to Reinvent Franchises Philips International’s Ron Blanken CB Richard Ellis’ Karen Ellzey The State of Louisiana’s Mike Olivier Industry Tracker Economic Developer Directory Discovery Forum Findings Career Development Emerging Leader Economic Development in the News A Look Ahead Executive Development Spotlight

The Leader - November/December 2007

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