FOCUS INTERVIEW
EXPERIENCE COUNTS
In spring 2020, as people settled
into working from home, the idea
of working in an o… ice started to look
obsolete, but as the novelty passed,
workers feel stuck in an ‘endless day’
and want some balance in their lives(i).
The forced adoption of remote working
has created opportunities, but is also
exposing new social risks, according to
JLL, which has been avidly measuring
the e… ects of the disruption over the past
year as workers adapted to homeworking
in compliance with guidelines. The
research reveals an appetite for greater
flexibility and new hybrid ways of
working.
Mark Caskey, JLL’s CEO, EMEA Corporate
Solutions has over 20 years of experience
in corporate real estate, including a stint at
42 JULY 2021
During the pandemic, -// has taNen regular readings on oƝ ce worNers attitudes to where
and how they worN. MarN CasNey, C(2, (M(A Corporate Solutions at -// tells Sara Bean
itƉs the creation of a satisfying worNplace experience that counts
flexible o ice provider Regus, so he’s well
placed to ponder the direction of travel
for the workplace and how the traditional
corporate o ice could coexist in future with
that of flexible and coworking o erings.
His career has included working at
Barclays Capital, globally responsible for
the real estate portfolio decisions for the
investment bank. He then joined and led
CBRE’s corporate solutions business in
EMEA, during which they acquired Norland
Managed Services, which represented for
the first time in Europe a traditional real
estate player moving into the FM space.
He explains: “I then went to work
for Regus as Global Head of Network
Development, responsible for the growth of
their business networks around the world,
where the focus on the expansion of flex
as an o er actually is a trend we’re talking
about so much more post-COVID. In many
instances, creating a network of flexible
o ices for companies and people to work
really holds true now.
“Since joining JLL in 2016, I have seen
increasing outsourced portfolios and a trend
towards the design and build of workplaces
that inspire companies and their employees
to thrive. I’ve been CEO of our corporate
solutions for over the last two years and
our core remit is to provide end to end real
estate services for occupiers. This includes
managing their portfolio strategies wherever
they are based, including the acquisition
of lease space, organisational change, the
design of their o ice to be fit for the future,
and ultimately the facilities management
aspect of managing buildings.”