Over the hundreds
of transactions that we have seen, establishing a working group and
decision-making structure up-front will be instrumental in ensuring
that the occupancy process is effective and ultimately successful. We
recommend the following roles/steps, some or all of which may be
conducted by the same person in a small or start-up firm:
The ultimate
decision maker
(i.e. the President, the CEO, the founder) should be involved in
establishing all of the initial parameters for the space including
size and the rationale for timing, the square footage sought,
budgeting, location and aesthetics, among others. The initial buy-in
is key to avoid wasting time. This individual should be kept apprised
by the day-to-day person in charge of the process and be included on
the short list site tours and be provided a reconciliation of all
sites reviewed.
The
financial/budgeting decision maker
(the CFO,
Controller, the founder) should be apprised of the financial impact of
the square footage sought. As an initial estimate, review current
market pricing and do a budget range based on your estimated square
footage range. The estimate should be a range of potential best case
and worst case cost both on annual and up-front cost bases. Caveat the
estimate because once you have narrowed your choice to a few
locations, the price can vary based on a variety of factors. In
particular, telecommunications costs can vary widely depending on
whether the building is fully wired, if your firm is a heavy web user,
or the space you ultimately choose requires significant work with few
landlord dollars offered.
The day-to-day decision maker.
We have seen a
variety of individuals in this role from the office manager, the heads
of facilities or human resources, to the CFO. This person should gain
acceptance from the working group of the general parameters of the
space sought and be responsible for selecting sites to tour and
developing a short list of sites. There are a variety of tools in
TenantWise which will assist this individual in keeping up with the
real estate occupancy process.
In-house counsel.
If your company has
in-house counsel, this individual should also be included in the
working group. Depending on the size and complexity of your company's
real estate requirement, your in-house counsel may want to retain a
specialized real estate attorney.
Advisor Timeline
In general,
every consultant would like to be brought in day one. This is not
possible and sometimes not preferable. The property you ultimately
select may dictate a different choice of consultants so it is prudent
not to choose too quickly. Listed below are the generally accepted
times that advisors should be brought in.
| Phase |
1-10,000
Sq. Ft. |
10,000
to 50,000 Sq.Ft. |
50,000
to 100,000 Sq. Ft. |
| Search |
TenantWise
Your internal team
|
TenantWise
Your internal team |
TenantWise
Your internal team |
| Negotiate |
Attorney |
Attorney
Architect
|
Attorney
Architect
Engineer |
| Finalize |
|
Project
Manager
(if substantial construction) |
Project
Manager |
| Construction |
Movers
Telecom
Furniture
|
Movers
Telecom
Furniture
General Contractor/
Construction Manager
Subcontractors
|
Movers
Telecom
Furniture
General Contractor/
Construction Manager
Subcontractors |
