Staying positive - a report on the highlights from this year’s IPD Occupiers Conference.
The 2009 IPD Occupiers Property in Business Conference took place in London on 28th June, and reflected the challenging economic climate with its theme of Ambitious Realism. Despite the difficult economic backdrop, the conference attracted more than 100 delegates from the corporate and public spheres, all sharing an interest in optimising the use of occupational estates.
Once again the event was seen as a success by those attending, with a feedback survey giving a rating of 4/5 – in terms of the format of the conference and the quality of the speakers. The top three reasons for attending were stated as learning and development, networking opportunities, and the quality of the programme.
Economic realism was provided by Sabina Kalyan, Head of Strategy for CBRE Investors, who painted a sobering view of the medium-term prospects for UK businesses. In the opening presentation of the conference, Kalyan suggested that although GDP growth was likely to turn positive by the end of this year, this recovery has been “bought” by an artificial stimulus that will have to be paid for in due course, either fiscally or monetarily.
Kalyan’s overview of the UK corporate occupier market context emphasised that whether the stimulus package is paid for through tax rises or higher inflation, medium term growth is bound to be below trend. And in the aftermath of the worst financial market crisis in history, debt markets are also likely to be disrupted for some time.
She went on to look at how the different sectors of the economy are performing, and the implications for corporate occupiers in the short and medium term. In the property letting market she observed that landlords are aggressively trying to re-gear leases, while on the other side tenants are proving keen to avoid RPI linked rents.
Chris Kane, Director of Real Estate at the BBC, spoke as an occupier face-to-face with the crisis. He asked the conference how much estate managers should be focusing on employee satisfaction in the current economic climate, suggesting that given reduced budgets and the smaller number of alternative employment options open to staff, there might be a temptation to ignore their concerns. But for the ambitious realist Kane believes that it is crucial to understand the changing nature of work, as much as anything to convince sceptical colleagues that putting staff to the top of the agenda is the right approach.
This means that the built environment in which work takes place must reflect the way people work and want to work. Kane believes that particularly for a creative industry like broadcasting, but also in many others, it is crucial that the configuration of space encourages collaboration and flexibility. In his talk he emphasised the importance of ‘Generation Y’ - the cohort of rising creative professionals who are rejecting traditional business hierarchies and formal channels of communication. In taking this view it is essential to look beyond the short term difficulties most employers are currently facing and think about where the organisation wants to be at least seven years down the line.
Kane explained how these concerns are influencing the BBC’s approach to shifting from White City in London to Media City UK - the new media village in Salford - which will mean transferring more than half of their space portfolio and 15,000 staff out of expensive London locations. By 2013 the BBC aims to have 80% of its activities and staff in 8 key production centres - London W1, London W12, Salford, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast - which should all be fit for the ambition of a “Creative Future”.
Richard Jolly, Associate Professor at the London Business School picked up this positive spirit in an inspirational closing session. He began with a quote from Bertrand Russell: “Change is inevitable, but progress is not.” He also reflected upon the Chinese language symbol for crisis, which in effect is made up of two words meaning threat on the one hand and opportunity on the other.
Jolly shared many of the lessons that he has learnt when working with organisations to implement programmes of change. He emphasised that change should not reflect fashion or ‘flavours of the month’. Only a rigorous analysis of the organisation’s true needs would bring about the courage, energy and focus needed to effectively implement change. But above all he stressed that communication is most critical – this more than anything will help the business survive through any crisis. Jolly ended his presentation with the words of Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
The 2010 IPD Occupiers Property in Business Conference will be held on 24 June 2010, The Grand Connaught Rooms, London. Contact Juliet Butcher, IPD Events at juliet.butcher@ipd.com for request further information.