In October and November, 2007 Skanska conducted a survey known as the Skanska Office Index through the GfK research agency. The goal was to obtain information concerning the requirements and opinions on office spaces.
The survey was carried out among 600 companies in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic (200 companies in each country) that have more than 50 employees and/or at least 500 m2 of office space.
Current Trends in Offices
In the Czech Republic, 41% of the respondents are of the opinion that there will be more employees in the office spaces that their companies rent, while only 6% expect a decrease. Approximately one third of the respondents stated that they will need more office space in the coming year.
Only 7% were of the opinion that they would need less space than today. It appears that there is a dispute between the current state (and the state that the respondents prefer) on the one hand and the employees' preferences on the other in terms of the arrangement of the office space.
The respondents stated that most of the employees (64%) would like to work in separate offices rather than in open-space offices, while 32% of the employees actually have separate offices available to them.
If the respondents in the Czech Republic would decide on the rental of new office spaces, then the following would be among the most important factors: energy costs; whether the spaces provide a pleasant and high-quality working environment; parking spots available near the property.
A Change in the Climate: An Increasing Emphasis on the Environment
Overall it seems that the respondents' companies from the Czech Republic put a heavy emphasis on the issue of the environment. Most of the companies are developing their own activities oriented on environmental protection.
A total of 78% of the respondents from the Czech Republic believe that environmental issues will be more and more important when deciding on which office spaces to use. While 31% of the Czech respondents are personally disturbed by environmental problems, in Hungary it is 79% and in Poland 57%.
Business Trends: A Positive Evaluation of the Markets in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary
The respondents from the Czech companies evaluated the market on which they are operating very positively overall: 88% describe their industry as expanding. In Poland this share comprises 94% of the respondents and in Hungary 59%.
When considering their company's position within its industry or field of activity, more than half of the respondents (57%) from the Czech Republic stated that their company is developing better than the industry’s average value, and 36% believe that their company’s rate of development corresponds to the industry average.
An Overview of Skanska’s Office Index Survey
In October and November, 2007 GfK Group, in cooperation with IQS Quant Group, carried out a survey for Skanska Commercial Development. The purpose was to obtain information on the requirements and opinions on office spaces.
The survey was conducted among 600 respondents in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, with 200 companies in each country. The respondents answered questions on leases and strategic matters concerning office spaces.
The companies surveyed operate primarily in these industries: banking and insurance, information technology, advertising, PR or marketing, the provisioning of other services. The companies have at least 50 employees and/or at least 500 m2 of office space.
Geographical limitation: The most important cities in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic (locally Prague, Ostrava, Brno and Pilsen, for example).
Source: Skanska Property Czech Republic
Skanska Property Czech Republic, s.r.o. is part of the Swedish international group Skanska, which is one of the most important international companies in the area of construction and development.
Skanska Property Czech Republic s.r.o., a developer of commercial properties, is managed directly from Sweden and belongs to the Skanska Commercial Development Europe (SCDE) Division. This division is one of 14 in the Skanska group.
It activities are primarily oriented on development activities in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Skanska Property Czech Republic has been active on the Czech market since 1997 and has already implemented several successful projects here: the Bredovský dvůr and Budějovická alej administration complexes or the retail parks in Čestlice and in Černý most.
At the current time it is working on three new projects, namely the Vyšehrad Victoria administrative building in Prague 4 and the Nordica Ostrava administrative building in the centre of Ostrava and also the R6 Logistics Park in Jeneč near Prague.