Corporate real estate as a human resource management tool

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how a firm can incorporate real estate strategy with its core strategy, using the workspace to support its human resource objectives. The intent is to examine how important the quality of the workplace is to employees and the resulting impact it can have on productivity, loyalty, satisfaction, and retention in a knowledge industry. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a survey to gather data on employee opinions about the importance and quality of workplace features. Responses are compared for statically significant differences using ANOVA among groups of employees to determine if opinions differ by sex, position in the firm, and location among newer and older facilities. The results are evaluated in the context of the firm's core strategy and objectives. Findings – The results indicate that employees at Alston & Bird, LLC, the law firm studied, are satisfied with the overall quality of their workspace. However, differences exist between workers in different positions and among locations. The firm's most valuable workers, the attorneys, appear to be most satisfied. Specialized spaces (day care center, dining room), carry more importance among employee groups the firm especially wants to recruit and retain. Originality/value – The paper illustrates how workspace initiatives as part of a corporate real estate strategy can support a knowledge firm's core strategy and objectives. It demonstrates how a firm can link corporate and real estate strategies to boost productivity, employee loyalty, employee satisfaction and retention.