How companies can ‘earn the commute’

Using technology wisely can give offices the edge over home working

Modern workplaces face a dilemma. Employees are more selective than ever about when, and whether, to come into the office and companies are under pressure to provide the most efficient and productive workspaces.

At a recent JLL occupier client event – Earn the commute: how to deliver an equitable employee experience using integrated technology – a panel of experts came together to explore how real estate, IT and business strategy can combine to create workplaces that people want to use.

AI investment is growing, but deployment strategy lags behind

Technology conversations today quickly turn to AI, which is set to play a major role in the workplace; 71% of UK corporate decision-makers plan to accelerate investment in AI over the next five years (66% globally). However, only 57% of senior managers report having a clear corporate real estate (CRE) strategy for embedding AI (61% globally), according to JLL’s Global Future of Work survey.

“Don’t focus on the technology,” says Andy Targell, JLL Technologies global head of real estate technology advisory. “Don’t focus on how I make AI work. Don’t focus on which app is cool.”

Instead, he suggests first identifying the problem you are trying to solve, whether that’s optimising office space, improving collaboration, or cutting energy costs.

Often, a major barrier to workplace efficiency is lack of communication between real estate and IT teams. When the future of work report asked industry professionals what’s holding back the delivery of a better employee experience, real estate leaders cited a lack of technology budget, while IT teams pointed to poor communication and collaboration between departments.

“If they don’t work together, there’s going to be leaks and cracks in the system,” said Ibrahim Yate, senior research analyst in the JLL Technologies Advisory team.

Typically, real estate teams focus on engagement and space design, whereas IT focuses on product delivery. Yet real estate teams may make decisions to source IT equipment that makes space more efficient.

“If IT teams aren’t involved, there’s a risk the new systems won’t integrate with the existing AV setup,” says Yate. “Scale that across thousands of rooms, you have lots of little minutes of inefficiency and lack of productivity, and that contributes in a very small way to breakages in the employee experience.”

Instead of a piecemeal approach to one-off projects, workplaces should view technology as a complete product.

“Technology is not concrete; it degrades over time because things around it are constantly changing,” explains Targell.

The office vs. the home office – equal or better?

Employees today compare their office experience to what they have at home, and, in many cases, the office falls short.

“They need to be at the very least equal,” says Yate.

To earn the commute, businesses need to create environments that make work easier whether that’s through smarter scheduling, seamless video conferencing or better amenities that support different working styles.

Sustainability and smart buildings: a win-win

Beyond improving the employee experience, AI-driven technology is transforming sustainability efforts and driving operational efficiency.

Royal London Asset Management Property has successfully used an AI-powered building management system to cut energy use and carbon emissions.

“We piloted Hank, an AI-driven technology that reads the building management system in a building, specifically looking at the HVAC equipment,” said Laura Thrower, senior responsible property investment analyst. “It builds a digital twin, analyses how the building is performing and generates ideas on how we can make micro-adjustments to save energy, save carbon and actually subsequently save money.”

In one of its assets in Birmingham, RLAM saw nearly 1,000 MWh of gas savings, 348 MWh of electricity and a 247-tonne reduction in carbon emissions within the first year.

Another AI-powered solution, Turntide, replaces traditional HVAC motors with energy-efficient alternatives. In one London office, it cut energy consumption by 56 percent, saved £3,800 in operating costs and reduced carbon emissions by just under 9 tonnes in just one year.

“For us, the investment is literally a year to a year and a half payback,” Thrower added. “It’s basically a no-brainer using this tech to try and drive operational efficiency on our assets.”

But, reiterating an earlier point, Thrower acknowledged the need to continuously improve: “You get exponential savings initially, but then it does drop off, so it needs to be continually monitored and adjusted.”

Who pays for the technology?

Adopting new technology often raises the question of who should pay – the landlord or the occupier?

An audience member asked the panel: “Why is it that the landlords don’t invest in these things to incentivise us, rather than throwing it all onto the tenant?”

Thrower acknowledged the complexity of cost-sharing and how it varies by asset type.

“One thing we are thinking about, particularly in our single-let portfolio, where there isn’t a service charge is, could it be a joint collaboration? Could it be both of us paying for it?”

“At the same time, we have our own carbon commitments, we want to achieve net zero across our portfolio, so we may decide that this makes financial sense for us to pay for it.”

Whatever the cost, the workplace of the future must be smarter, more efficient and solve employee’s most common complaints.

To achieve this, landlords and occupiers need to be on the same page about technology investments.