For a multinational professional services firm, real estate was a loosely managed portion of its cost structure. Decisions on occupancy were made locally without the benefit of firmwide guidelines or standards.
As with most professional services firms, real estate was the firm’s largest nonpersonnel cost.
Capturing the opportunity
The firm took 4 actions to rein in the cost
Defined a real estate policy rooted in values and professional goals
Instituted a top down approval process
Set consensus-driven space standards
Implemented various cost-saving levers
Occupancy cost per professional was reduced by 40% over the period of implementation.
