Methods for evaluating office occupiers' needs and preferences

Purpose – Corporate occupiers are among the important interest groups in the real estate business. The whole value network in the real estate sector, consisting of, e.g. developers, investors, and service providers depend on the occupier organizations and meeting their needs and preferences. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the methods applied by the parties in the real estate sector in identifying and evaluating office occupiers' needs and preferences regarding the physical, virtual, social as well as financial elements of the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – Based on theme interviews with selected Finnish organizations, the applied methods for evaluating office occupiers' needs and preferences are analyzed and presented. The applicability of the methods is evaluated by a set of criteria based on a literature review and the interviewees' responses. Findings – The paper presents an efficient and relevant evaluation of the applied methods in matrix form. Additionally, recommendations for the development of the methods are suggested. Practical implications – Analyzing the occupiers' needs and preferences related to physical, virtual, social, and financial elements of offices requires applicable methods. The methods should enable the parties in the real estate sector to analyze the direction of the real estate markets as regards the different elements. Originality/value – The paper provides a classification and analysis of the methods applied to identify office occupier organizations' needs and preferences. Suggestions for further development of the methods are presented enabling a comprehensive analysis of needs and preferences.