Work order management can often be complicated and time consuming. Especially amid labor shortage strains and recession concerns, many commercial real estate (CRE) property teams have expressed concern about keeping up with work orders this year.
As property teams work to accomplish more tasks with fewer resources, saving time through greater efficiency has become more important than ever. In our recent research report, “The State of Commercial Real Estate Building Operations 2023,” we asked CRE property teams what their biggest priorities are for this year. Learn what they had to say about work order management in today’s rapidly changing industry.
Support Engineers for Better Work Order Management
When it comes to equipping engineers, priorities have shifted since last year. CRE professionals said their biggest objective for engineers in 2022 was knowledge transfer from seasoned engineers to junior or new team members. However, for 2023, prioritizing and managing work is now their top concern. Perhaps this should come as no surprise, especially as teams face diminished staffing resources to complete work orders (see next section below).
Following the same trend from 2022, equipping engineers with mobile/app technology remained the second biggest priority for 2023. This is promising for engineers as property teams continue to recognize the value of technology to assist in completing their jobs.
Do More with Fewer Resources
Lack of staffing resources and personnel could explain why prioritizing and managing work has become more crucial for engineers. In fact, CRE professionals cited staffing resources as their top challenge to completing work orders.
For property teams working with smaller teams, technology that can help streamline and automate processes will be an important contributor to success. That’s especially true for commercial offices, as property teams surveyed for the report noted faster responses to work orders as one of the most common tenant requests they get.
That could suggest property teams are grappling with prioritizing work orders that come in, another top issue for those surveyed. And completing work orders in a timely manner poses a challenge as well, since ordering parts has become more difficult (and costly) due to material shortages and supply chain issues.
In those cases, having a streamlined way to create purchase orders directly from work orders could be beneficial. When purchase orders are linked to work orders and a material library, property teams can track costs and quantities for a single building or an entire portfolio.
Streamline Work Order Management
When issues come up, you need an effective way to manage the entire process from work order to final resolution. To streamline your work order management with technology, it’s crucial to:
- Make it fast and easy for tenants to submit work orders from any device
- Auto-prioritize critical requests to ensure the right work is getting done
- Provide full visibility into work order status, assignments, and SLAs
With the new year underway, CRE property teams are examining their building operations strategies to determine where they are spending most of their time so they can tap into tools to help meet their goals. Work order management software has proven to help property teams and their engineers complete work orders in a timely and efficient manner. Equip your engineers with the resources they need to succeed.
Download the full report, “The State of Commercial Real Estate Building Operations 2023,” for additional insights from CRE professionals.
