Time and time again, we have seen commercial real estate (CRE) companies evolve to meet the industry’s latest demands. Some examples being: changing buildings to accommodate the hybrid work force, establishing “green leases”, and adapting to new space measurement requirements.
The businesses having the most success tackling these challenges? The ones tapping into proptech solutions.
In this blog we recount two proptech case studies and tell the story of how the CRE companies use software to direct their communications and to streamline property management workflows.
The Grove: Unlocking property management efficiency
The management team at The Grove struggled with issues such as coordinating different budgets, calculating separate common area maintenance (CAM) fees, and coding invoices for multiple buildings. The challenge extended to managing different types of leases, a process that often led to confusion. Additionally, the tenants often felt disconnected from the property management team due to inefficient communication and delay in maintenance services.
Prism by Building Engines has helped the team streamline property management workflows, enabling the group to separate tasks by property, track and manage work orders, handle inspections and incidents, and facilitate resource reservations. Certificate of insurance (COI) tracking to simplify management and improve compliance rates is another feature that won the team’s approval.
Prism’s online portal allows tenants to interact directly with the property management team. And the convenience of the mobile app further enables the tenants to make requests quickly, get updates via text or email, and speed up completion of work orders.
The implementation of Prism has greatly improved efficiency. Notably, the number of emails to the management team has reduced, thanks to the self-booking feature for resource reservations and self-service work order submissions.
“Instead of emailing or calling to provide an update to tenants, we can go directly on the Prism work order and add comments. And it quickly sends tenants an update. We can do that from our phone,” says The Grove’s GM.
Prism’s robust COI tracking has cut the reliance on outdated Excel sheets and has reduced human error. Several tenants, who were previously non-compliant due to lack of updated insurance, now have their information accurately tracked.
JEMB Realty: Improved building management and tenant satisfaction for five properties
Lack of accountability was the biggest challenge for JEMB Realty’s Tenant Coordinator. He lacked an efficient way to manage and track vendors, work orders, tenant requests, and inspections. It led to confusion amongst teams, difficulty tracking historical data, and longer wait times for tenant requests.
Building Engines software lays everything out for the Tenant Coordinator. The technology shows him where everyone on his team is throughout the day, how long each work order and inspection takes, and how much each job costs. In other words, nothing is a guessing game.
On the tenant satisfaction side, Building Engines’ software records all tenant work order requests. Every week and month, the property managers create reports using the software to see which tenant has the most requests — helping JEMB Realty’s Tenant Coordinator and the team prioritize attention in the areas of greatest need.
The team also uses Building Engines to communicate energy-saving incentive programs to tenants. With these incentives in mind, tenants work towards reducing their individual energy consumption, saving both themselves and JEMB Realty money.
The Tenant Coordinator saw three major changes after implementing Building Engines software:
- Improved accountability with property teams and vendors
- Opened communications with tenants
- Faster work order completion rates
With results like this, JEMB’s Tenant Coordinator is able to get back to other important tasks at hand while having Building Engines technology work for him in the background.
He says, “With Building Engines, you can see every aspect, every inch of every floor, every inch of the stairwells. So, you’re not missing anything. It actually made the building cleaner, and it gave everyone a sense of responsibility – down to the youngest janitor and up to the highest chief engineer. Everyone has a say, and everyone can create a work order. Nothing ever gets missed; everybody has full access.”
Proptech case studies
To conclude, proptech has provided these businesses with the leverage they need to be disruptors in the industry.
Proptech software such as Prism by Building Engines allows CRE companies to:
- Track all materials, costs, government documents, and tenant communications in one digital location;
- Have full visibility with property teams to improve accountability;
- Enable faster work order completion rates to improve tenant satisfaction;
- And more.
Continue learning about the benefits of proptech — tour the Prism by Building Engines platform today.
