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Over the past decade, amenities in and around office buildings had grown in quantity, popularity, and creativity. The proliferation of office amenities was the outcome of several trends building to a perfect storm of workplace real estate. As routine work can be done more easily from anywhere, landlords and employers are creating desirable and inspiring spaces where exceptional employees and clients actually want to join together. This strategy had paid off for organizations because higher quality buildings drive considerable competitive advantages.
Common real estate investment scenarios for facility professionals include:
- Planning and constructing new buildings.
- Repositioning aging or underperforming spaces.
- Extending performance or future proofing a currently high performing space.
These scenarios have complex implications for facility managers as they build flexible interiors over a multi-year budget for the asset portfolio.
Feedback from workers surveyed shows that workers would prefer to return to working in the office, but with changes. There is a demand for more collaboration space, more private defined space, and fewer shared workstations – agile workplace. As changes are necessary to enable the return to work, some organizations will be paralyzed by the restrictions of supply chain disruption and rising costs. They will miss the opportunity to adjust and use refreshed spaces to attract the best associates and clients in the market. With the help of trusted Starnet contractors, the physical office can be quickly transformed into a place that increases the feel-good factor and is a deep source of inspiration to an individual associate or client.
Starnet Members are more than professional flooring contractors executing outstanding interior projects throughout the United States and Canada. They are strategic advisors, providing support for facility investments by focusing on these decision drivers.
- Compliance – facility executives want partners that will allow them to navigate obscure regulations and avoid risk as a responsible officer. Business leaders can count on Starnet members to be knowledgeable and assist facility professionals to comply with the law and avoid risk. In the commercial flooring industry compliance may involve the ADA regulations, environmental regulations, corporate and social preferred sourcing, or ‘Buy America’ executive orders.
- Safety – resources and financial support of compliance far outweigh investments in safety in nearly every industry. Despite that reality, major improvements in facility safety can be achieved through careful material selection. Practical and common-sense solutions provided by Starnet members can dramatically reduce the risks of facility fires or employee slip fall injuries. In commercial flooring this may also include managing selections to advance the health and well-being of the building occupants regarding air quality, acoustics, and sanitization.
- Return on Investment – Starnet members are experts in matching the performance characteristics of different installed flooring solutions with your available budget over time. They can guide you to focus maintenance efforts in the correct areas or design higher turn replacement solutions based on your traffic patterns and refresh plan. In commercial flooring high return on investment outcomes include attracting the best clients and associates in the marketplace due to the outstanding interior environment. Higher ROI can also be achieved by managing the need for replacement through layout that facilitates isolated replacement options and minimal business disruption.
Contrary to past realities common real estate investment scenarios, the agile workplace concept can be supported with higher value interior finishes without full investment in construction renovation. Flexibility, shared meeting space, indoor air quality, powered and connected everywhere building technology can be achieved in existing spaces with minimal disruptions. The network of flooring contractors offers time and money saving solutions to install new flooring with no dismantling and reinstalling furniture using furniture lift systems. Starnet’s low profile raised access flooring offers futureproof data and power at the point of need under a variety of floor finishes to beautify the space.
Standardization will give way to greater individuality in response to supply chain disruption, rising costs, and fluid organizational goals. Sustainability, flexibility, and performance do not need to be compromised while mitigating the volatility short term. Variety and choice will be expected to deal with these challenges, and the facility professional needs trusted partners to navigate this uncertainty or be overwhelmed. A high level of expertise comes with the Starnet contractors. They have the product knowledge and skilled labor teams available to assist facility management professionals for the best possible outcomes. The teamwork and easy collaboration supported by a strong facility management strategy and capable experienced interior contractors cannot be underestimated. To get started Partnering for Success, Starnet members prefer to begin with interior assessments.
Interior assessment sessions could involve one space, or an entire campus of buildings with the associated product selections. Interior assessment can also include accurate and reliable installed budget targets over multiple budget timelines. Each area of your workplace can have a Starnet interior assessment with an accurate budget for the target year, easily adjusted as your executive team adjusts their priorities and expects their facility leader to execute. Any challenge can be met with multiple options recommended by Starnet Members and Preferred Vendor Partners representing the world’s leading manufacturers and solutions providers.
Since 1992, Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Cooperative has served the industry as a trusted partnership of commercial flooring professionals and quality flooring manufacturers. More than 180 independent contractors doing business in more than 360 of the top markets across the United States and Canada have become invaluable partners for facility professionals and Starnet’s manufacturing partners. Starnet members ensure improved project outcomes, complete customer satisfaction and reduced costs for the life of the interior space. Starnet members serve commercial end users with a full portfolio of flooring products, qualified installation, furniture lift, access flooring, subfloor repair and recovery, and continuous care of soft and hard surface flooring and fabrics. The membership’s strength in numbers creates a combined annual volume of over three billion dollars.
