JLL’s biennial Global Future of Work survey has been exploring the evolving world of work since 2011 and is recognized as a leading industry publication on the emerging CRE trends. This year, we draw on the experience of over 2,300 CRE decision-makers and the perspectives of JLL experts, highlighting the key areas of focus and strategies CRE leaders should be prioritizing over the next 12-24 months and beyond. Future of Work 2024 is part of JLL’s Future Vision program, a scenario-led exploration of the future of Real Estate. 

CRE executives have hard decisions to make, with short-term and long-term priorities often pulling in different directions. For instance, supporting business growth and innovation is important. But so is delivering efficiencies, or even cost-cutting. Similarily, continuously-changing working patterns present another tricky challenge, with employees spending more time in the office than two years ago, right-sizing will be a core priority. But it’s not yet clear what the right size will be.

Business leaders believe the areas where CRE can add the most value include the following: supporting business growth (41%), driving organizational efficiency (38%) and reducing operating costs (37%). Yet, environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives also remain key to the roadmap that many CRE leaders are expected to develop in the future.

Beyond the general trend, there is some variance across regions and industries. Organizations in the Americas region are more likely to expect CRE to support business growth, innovation and efficiency. Companies in Asia Pacific are more focused on digitization. There is a greater expectation on delivering sustainability through the CRE function in EMEA – as the only region with environmental impact as a top-five priority.

Supporting business growth is more important in retail (cited by 52% of respondents in this industry), banking (50%) and manufacturing (46%), while enabling innovation is paramount in the knowledge-based life sciences (48%) and technology industries (44%).

This increasingly complex and rapidly-evolving business environment demands an agile CRE function - one that is quick to test, learn and adapt, incorporating rapid iteration and experimentation to generate feedback and buy-in. It means thinking of the organization as a living organism that will continue to grow and evolve, rather than as a static environment. This calls for a better use of technology to collect and analyze data in real-time and extrapolate the implications, so CRE and business leaders are able to respond to changes in demand and make more informed decisions more quickly.

Other key skills cited by at least 45% of respondents are: creative and analytical thinking and scenario planning. The demand for these skills, alongside holistic problem solving and entrepreneurial mindset, reflects the need for being smart and agile in a changing environment.

The sheer number of diverse skills required to transform the CRE function means more businesses are looking to tap into specialist external expertise. Across a range of activities, from workplace strategy to lease administration, 40% of CRE decision-makers report that a mix of in-house and outsourced resource is the most likely model over the next five years, compared with 25-30% who had adopted a blended approach in 2022. A further 20-25% are considering mainly outsourcing their CRE activities by 2030, to access the skills they cannot find internally.

Blending the approach is a rational response to complex and changing demands being placed on the CRE function. Strategic partnerships can be used to complement internal skills and capabilities and to rapidly add expertise in response to sharp changes or where needed for specific projects.