One of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic is working from home, in all jobs where it was possible to implement, and when measures to prevent the spread of the virus ease, some companies will certainly begin to reorganize their workspaces. The reasons for this can vary. One of them is the reduction of operating costs, whether it is conditioned by a decline in revenue caused by the coronavirus or the reorganization of business as a consequence of a decrease or increase in the scope of work.
The solutions offered by DCT Business Process Management for efficient management of commercial real estate and workplace efficiency are handled by a company founded in 2016 by owner and director Timi Kovačević. Under the DC&T brand, they offer professional consulting services specialized in integrated management solutions for business spaces and workplaces, thus their focus is to provide quality management of workplaces and facilities, namely work and office spaces.
– We approach each client individually and after conducting research and analysis, we offer solutions to companies for achieving better utilization of workspaces, namely their real estate and assets. This includes not only design solutions for workspaces but also management of workplaces to ensure they are used effectively. In this way, we help companies transform their business by applying a new workplace strategy that will ensure a strong and sustainable business culture – emphasizes Timi Kovačević.
Calculation for the Client
In recent years, Timi has been joined by his wife Dubravka Kovačević, who is engaged as a marketing manager and is involved in establishing and maintaining business contacts with existing clients and finding new ones. She is on the front line of communication with companies seeking consulting services in the field of corporate real estate and business interiors. Prior to joining the DC&T team, she worked at one of our large banks as an internal auditor, so the corporate world is not unfamiliar to her and she has adapted quite well to her new role.
– The fundamental question that every company should ask is the question of the costs that office spaces require and the possibilities for their reduction. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze how many square meters the company has leased, and how much actual workspace it needs, or whether the cost of leasing office spaces can be reduced. Namely, despite the increasing trend of working from home, especially recently due to the pandemic, the cost of leasing real estate or ownership of it is one of the most important items. And many organizations find it difficult to align their real estate portfolio with business strategies and new ways of working. This is exactly what we do: we help companies reorganize workplaces and reduce operating costs by managing corporate real estate so that business spaces are as functional as possible and meet the core needs of the organization – emphasizes Dubravka.
To determine what an organization needs, it is necessary to collect various data, from monitoring the occupancy of meeting rooms, insights into the number of workplaces to the company’s growth and planned number of employees, which also includes space for new jobs that are yet to be opened and depend on the human resources management strategy. The possibility of sharing a workspace and working from home can also be considered, and it should be defined how much space per employee is needed for work to be carried out smoothly.
In Business with Experience
The idea for starting a private business came to Timi spontaneously, as a continuation of everything he had worked on before.
– My career path has always been connected with consulting sales and project management in the ICT industry and technology sector, after which I took a position in the global company Steelcase, specialized in furnishing business interiors. As a project manager for furnishing business interiors, I collaborated with architects and designers on projects for arranging business spaces, from defining and creating design solutions, branding to conceptualizing the functionality of space usage – recalls Timi.
The knowledge gained from previous jobs helped him to design his business team, which, alongside his wife Dubravka, includes experts from various subfields, from agents dealing with real estate leasing, architects, designers to IT specialists, as well as individuals engaged in human resources management, which is extremely important in designing workplaces, where all client needs must be taken into account, including hiring strategies or reducing the number of employees.
A Tailwind
The search for new business and workspaces is not at all simple. Once a decision is made to lease a space, the DC&T team works intensively from the start on communication with the client, which effectively integrates resources.
– After analyzing workplaces and the costs of commercial real estate, the management that engaged us can make much more rational decisions regarding the leasing and organization of business and office space because they are based on conducted research that will reveal the company’s actual needs – emphasizes Dubravka.
Their work has been recognized by various domestic and foreign companies. Their clients are mainly global companies, but recently they have also successfully collaborated with domestic high-tech companies.
– One of the first projects at the beginning of our business was achieved with our leading system integrator Combis, which gave us a tailwind for further work. After that, we successfully implemented projects with large global companies such as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, telecom operators Tele 2 and Oracle Croatia, pharmaceutical companies Sanofi Aventis and Salvus, where we successfully implemented a change management strategy for workplaces after their relocation to new business spaces – says Kovačević.
A Standstill Due to the Pandemic
DC&T consulting helps companies not only in making relocation decisions based on cost analysis but also in exploring the market for business spaces and takes over the arrangement of all activities related to the lease agreement. Its main partner in the real estate sector is the real estate agency Eurovilla. Once a suitable property is found, the advisory and analytical part of the job begins: workplaces are analyzed and then the entire team participates in the development of the interior project; in addition to the previously mentioned professions, a psychologist specialized in workplace analysis and conducting various workshops is also involved.
Since DC&T consulting operates in the corporate real estate and construction industry market segment, some projects have been postponed to the next quarter. Due to the current decline in workload, they are users of government measures for preserving jobs, but the company hopes that the crisis is temporary and that they will soon continue to work at full capacity as before, as they have grown more than three hundred percent every year since their inception. Some export jobs have also been contracted – in addition to the region, business cooperation has been established with clients from Singapore and Dubai, which Timi and Dubravka Kovačević believe will be realized as soon as the pandemic situation calms down.
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