Implementing an effective Corporate Real Estate Project Framework in global organisations

Project managers in the real estate sector face unique challenges. Their assignments can vary widely in type, size and complexity. For example, they could be asked to manage the construction of new builds, undertake refits, upgrades, or major interior overhauls, or to be responsible for facilities management, to name just a few.

Given that project managers often have several jobs to handle at the same time, they need to be able to resolve three major issues:

Keeping information on all assignments up-to-date and available in one place

Managing workflow in a way that provides the right information to the right people at the right time

Choosing the steps and deliverables within the methodology, or life cycle, that is right for each type of project.

CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework helps project managers deal effectively with all three problems. Working with an organisation’s existing project management and other software and

technology resources, CQC’s Framework collects data across multiple projects and presents it to the people who need it most in an easy-to-use format. With everyone working off the same page with accurate, up-to-date information, collaboration is simple and the chances of completing a job on time and within budget is greatly increased. And because the manager can set the governance level for each job separately, each project has the life cycle that is right for its size and complexity.

While real estate project managers face many challenges across multiple assignments, CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework brings all the vital information they need to their fingertips in one easy-to-use package.

In large-scale corporate real estate projects, managers often need to collaborate with a wide range of contractors and other members of the project team across global time zones. That means effective collaboration between workgroups is essential if the project is to run on time and within budget.

CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework addresses these challenges by providing managers with a way of keeping their portfolios, programmes and projects in a single place. Using the Framework, they can access up-to-date information through easy-to-use reports and dashboards – all customised to suite their particular needs.

But the Framework does more than package accurate information into a single place. Having an increased level of transparency on every project also means that managers can greatly boost the efficiency of the workflow by improving governance on each portfolio. When it is simple to see who is responsible for each part of a project, the manager can respond to lags in decision-making, or delivery, by going to exactly the right place in the chain of command. Not only that, everyone who has been given access rights to the information can see too, so the whole process is transparent.

Crucially, the Framework recognises that each job needs its own governance structure. Managers do not have to suffer from an overkill of sign-off processes and deliverables when designing the life cycles of small projects, but they can also be confident that the

Framework has tools that can be scaled up to meet the complexities and demands of even the largest jobs. The Framework puts project managers firmly in control of their own assignments.

Finally, the auditors are happy because they can follow the decision-making processes in each and every part of the job, and see how well the budgets have been controlled, thereby identifying further areas of improvements to the business’ project management processes.

Typical project management hurdles

Lack of accurate information across the portfolio, making decision-taking difficult

Working with groups across different global locations and time zones

Ineffective collaboration and communication between workgroups

Poor governance structures and processes which lead to delays in approval, sign-off and decisions

Operating under a flat or declining budget, often for a growing real estate portfolio

Generating efficiencies.

Collaboration is key

CQC CorporateReal EstateProjectFramework

“CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework does not reinvent the wheel. Instead, it acts as the hub that holds all of the spokes of the wheel in place and makes it travel smoothly in the right direction”

“Effective collaboration between workgroups is essential if real estate projects are to run on time and within budget”

The least effective way to manage a project is to be constantly reacting to unexpected events. It soaks up time, especially if the information to deal with the problem is not ready to hand.

CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework cannot prevent the occasional emergency from happening, but it can give managers the tools to proactively manage their portfolios and deal with the unexpected as effectively as possible.

The Framework enables managers to review the actual progress of each part of a project and adjust schedules dynamically to help the job stay on track. It also facilitates the management of key milestones, including tracking planned, projected and actual delivery dates, so when problems arise, he or she can solve an issue while it is developing to help prevent it from getting out of hand.

In addition, the Framework’s highly flexible governance manager makes it easy to set the parameters for key dates and deadlines, and assign responsibility to specific people in the different workgroups. Everybody then knows what they should be doing and have the authority to act when needed.

Finally, the manager has a detailed overview of the budgets on each part of a project. He or she can compare the initial budget plans and approved budgets with the actual expenditure on the job. Any changes to the scope of the project can be captured and budgets reforecast for its impact on cash flow.

Work off the same page Organises projects into tasks with responsible

parties and due dates, so everyone can see at a glance who needs to do what

Users have an up-to-date, executive-level view of portfolio, programme, and single and multi-phased projects

Allows management and the entire team to see the status of all projects across departments, clients or workgroups

External suppliers, programme governance officers, facilities service delivery managers, and others can see the same page and adjustments can be made instantly, if needed

No one needs to be in the dark over what they need to do next, or what stage the project has reached.

Proactive management

CQC CorporateReal EstateProjectFramework

It can be daunting switching to a new way of managing projects, which is why we offer as much support as you need every step of the way. CQC can help you to manage a Corporate Real Estate Project Framework implementation either in part, or from start to finish, by:

Assessing the best fit between what you need and the framework, and tailoring it to meet your specific requirements

Using your existing PPM tool, or helping you to select an appropriate alternative

Working with you to roll out CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework and providing training to ensure maximum adoption

Helping load your data, wherever it sits

Making sure that you get the planned benefits.

And, after everything is up and running smoothly, we can provide support to cover the whole of the framework solution at whatever level suits your needs.

Let us help Overview of CQC solution framework based on standard PPM toolThe solution uses proven practices and pre-configured functionality:

PORTFOLIO PROGRAMME PROJECT

Detailed monthly cost forecasts/budgets

Strategic and empirical KPI forecasts

Multiple possible stage gated project types like New Build, Lease Event, Maintenance etc.

Milestones Detailed Budgets down to GL account level

Capex vs Opex

Investment Pipeline Average cycle time

Other KPIs are tracked to see the progress and status of ongoing projects

Deliverable/Document Management

Resource budgets and time sheeting, etc.

Stage Gate Reviews

Top Down Investment Planning

Workflow that can be tailored to unique requirements of organisation

Status Reporting Non labor expense tracking like furniture cost, IT Infrastructure cost etc.

“It can be daunting switching to a new way of managing projects, which is why we offer as much support as you need every step of the way”

CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework does not reinvent the wheel. Instead, it acts as the hub that holds all of the spokes of the wheel in place and makes it travel smoothly in the right direction.

The Framework helps project managers to keep on top of multiple projects through dashboards. It makes accurate and timely communication with global stakeholders a reality.

It brings industry best practice to each job because it has been developed in collaboration with real practitioners. And it both utilises standard PPM tools and integrates with existing software, such as SAP and SharePoint – thereby leveraging previous IT investment.

Businesses that adopt CQC’s Corporate Real Estate Project Framework usually see a return on investment within a year.

To find out more, contact us on:+44 (0) 208 133 3227info@cqc-solutions.com

Speedy return on investment

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