Consulting services

Corporate real estate becomes a strategic business lever when organizations use it to drive three outcomes simultaneously: cost optimization that releases capital, sustainable practices that meet regulatory and investor expectations, and workplace experiences that attract and retain talent.

• Cost as capital reallocation: Portfolio optimization does not just reduce occupancy costs — it releases capital that can be reinvested in technology, talent, or growth. JLL's work with a global financial services firm generated $120 million in annual savings by right-sizing its portfolio based on integrated attendance and occupancy data.
• Sustainability as risk management and value creation: Buildings account for roughly 40% of global carbon emissions. Organizations that decarbonize their portfolios reduce regulatory exposure, qualify for green financing, and attract ESG-conscious investors and tenants.
• Workplace as talent strategy: The physical workplace directly influences recruitment, retention, and daily productivity. Organizations that design their workplaces around employee experience gain a measurable competitive advantage in talent markets.

Data analytics and technology are foundational to modern real estate consulting — they enable consultants to replace assumption-based decisions with evidence-based recommendations, model scenarios at portfolio scale, and monitor performance in real time rather than through periodic reviews.

• Portfolio data integration: Effective consulting requires unifying lease data, occupancy data, financial performance, labor market analytics, and market intelligence into a single analytical environment.
• Scenario modeling and simulation: Modern consulting platforms model multiple portfolio scenarios simultaneously — evaluating the financial, operational, and employee experience impact of different consolidation, expansion, or redesign options.
• AI-powered market intelligence: AI accelerates the analysis of market conditions, comparable transactions, labor availability, and operating cost benchmarks — compressing research timelines from weeks to hours.
• Ongoing performance monitoring: Technology transforms consulting from a periodic engagement into a continuous intelligence loop — tracking utilization, lease events, and market shifts in real time.
   

JLL's consulting team is supported by JLL Falcon, JLL's proprietary AI platform for commercial real estate, and JLL Azara, an AI-driven data analysis application. JLL professionals worldwide use JLL's AI tools to deliver faster, more customized solutions for clients.

Evaluate CRE consulting providers across five measurable dimensions: methodology transparency, data and technology capability, team composition and continuity, integration with execution services, and documented client outcomes.

• Methodology transparency: Ask each firm to describe its consulting methodology in detail — how it gathers data, conducts analysis, develops scenarios, and arrives at recommendations.
• Data and technology: Compare the proprietary data assets, AI capabilities, and portfolio analytics tools each firm brings to the engagement.
• Team composition and continuity: Identify who will actually lead and staff the engagement — not just who presents during the pitch.
• Integration with execution: Assess whether the consulting firm can also execute on its recommendations through leasing, project management, and facilities management.
• Documented outcomes: Request specific, quantified results from comparable engagements: cost savings achieved, space reductions delivered, and client retention rates.

Organizations achieve better strategic outcomes and faster execution by engaging one integrated consulting firm rather than assembling multiple specialist advisors — because real estate decisions are interdependent, and fragmented advisory relationships produce fragmented recommendations.

• Integration advantage: A single firm operates from shared data, a unified client understanding, and consistent analytical methods.
• Execution continuity: When the same firm that develops the strategy can also execute it through leasing, project management, and facilities management, the transition is seamless.
• Accountability: A single advisory relationship creates clear accountability for outcomes.
   

When specialists may add value. For narrow-scope needs — such as a one-time tax incentive negotiation or jurisdiction-specific regulatory analysis — a specialist may provide deeper expertise. But the strategic framework should remain with the integrated advisor.

JLL's integrated consulting approach connects workplace, location, and portfolio decisions through a shared data foundation, a sequential analytical framework, and coordinated execution — ensuring that each strategic decision accounts for its downstream impact on the other two disciplines.

• Data unification: JLL's consulting team begins by integrating the client's occupancy data, lease portfolio, financial performance, headcount projections, and market intelligence into a single analytical environment.
• People-first strategy development: Before evaluating locations or portfolio composition, JLL examines how people in the organization work — collaboration patterns, space utilization, hybrid behaviors, and employee experience needs.
• Scenario modeling across disciplines: JLL models portfolio scenarios that simultaneously account for workplace requirements, location constraints, and financial outcomes.
• Coordinated execution: When the strategy is approved, JLL's consulting team transitions to execution in partnership with JLL's leasing, project management, and facilities management teams.
   

JLL's portfolio transformation engagement with a global financial services firm illustrates this model: integrated analysis of attendance, occupancy, lease, and transaction data produced over 300 specific portfolio actions and $120 million in annual savings.

The first 90 days of a JLL consulting engagement follow a structured three-phase sequence: discovery and data gathering (typically weeks 1–4), baseline analysis and benchmarking (typically weeks 4–8), and preliminary findings with strategic options (typically weeks 8–12).

• Phase 1: Discovery and data gathering. JLL conducts stakeholder interviews with CRE leadership, HR, finance, and operations; collects lease portfolio data, occupancy metrics, and headcount projections; and establishes the analytical framework and success metrics.
• Phase 2: Baseline analysis and benchmarking. JLL integrates all data into its analytical platform, benchmarks the portfolio against JLL's proprietary datasets, identifies performance gaps, and develops preliminary scenarios.
• Phase 3: Preliminary findings and strategic options. JLL presents initial findings including 2–3 strategic scenarios with financial modeling, implementation timelines, and risk assessments. The client provides direction and the team refines the recommended strategy.
   

Complex multi-market engagements may extend the timeline. JLL establishes a detailed project plan and milestone schedule during the first week.

Yes. JLL structures consulting engagements modularly, allowing organizations to begin with a focused, high-impact workstream and expand scope as initial value is demonstrated and budget becomes available.

• Start with a portfolio diagnostic: A 6–8 week assessment that identifies the largest optimization opportunities and produces a prioritized roadmap for further engagement.
• Add disciplines sequentially: Begin with the most urgent need and layer in additional disciplines as the engagement matures. Each phase builds on the data foundation established previously.
• Pilot before scaling: Test the consulting approach on a single market, business unit, or building before expanding to the full portfolio.
• Shift from project to ongoing advisory: Many engagements begin as fixed-scope projects and evolve into retained advisory relationships as the client recognizes the value of continuous strategic support.

Organizations should conduct a comprehensive portfolio strategy review annually, with quarterly data check-ins and triggered reassessments when material business events occur.

• Annual strategic review: A full reassessment evaluates whether portfolio strategy remains aligned with business objectives — accounting for headcount changes, market conditions, lease expirations, and competitive dynamics.
• Quarterly data check-ins: Lighter-touch, data-driven reviews identify whether conditions have changed enough to warrant strategy adjustments.
• Triggered reassessments: Material business events — M&A, restructuring, rapid growth, major lease expirations, regulatory shifts — should trigger immediate strategy review.
• Continuous monitoring: For retained advisory relationships, technology-enabled monitoring tracks utilization trends, lease events, and market shifts in real time.