Grown together. Motivated and committed. Ten years of BEREM.
When asked about their favourite properties, BEREM managers Inga Lachenmaier and Pekka Ylä-Outinen have to smile. For Inga, it is the “Karlspark” in Karlsruhe, where she is always asking how things are going – she loves numbers, even up to the ancillary cost statements. Pekka admits that he has a soft spot for the newest properties. He also comments on how he has favourite tenants and service providers. From his ten years’ experience of BEREM, he knows that traditional facility managers in particular are the hidden champions behind our asset and property management business. He could not praise their performance enough! This is also representative of the BEOSphere: a community on an equal footing.
Interview with Inga Lachenmaier and Pekka Ylä-Outinen
As part of the BEOS family, BEREM has been managing properties for the entire BEOS portfolio for over ten years now. How did this come about?
It all started with just one property that BEOS acquired in Eching near Munich in 2013. We then gradually began to manage various buildings in Berlin. At the start, we didn’t plan to quickly expand across other locations. But the skills of our colleagues at BEREM in dealing with tenants, coupled with their technical and commercial expertise, quickly became known within the company. By merging, as it were, with BEOS, we have achieved the key milestones with the various workbenches and helped to fully shape the BEOSphere. However, we had already thought and acted as part of the community before – not only internally, but also with all our external partners. Shaping something together has always been our goal.
So team spirit helps form a community …
That’s true. We have been working on this joint project workbench for ten years now – the ideal circumstances for teamwork and open communication. In this collaborative environment, experts from both fields meet – we call it “BEOSers meeting BEREMers” – and pursue a common goal. This working culture encourages us to act proactively and ensures efficient and, above all, harmonious cooperation. Whether team members meet in person in the office or brainstorm on projects via digital platforms depends on the situation. Here we maintain respectful but also very cordial relationships with each other. Everyone can put forward their point of view and share their thoughts about things. We saw just how well this works while converting our real estate management system. Everyone helped with the changeover and were focused on finding solutions. Even if the road gets a bit rocky, we simply go with it: not least because we make these decisions together. Fortunately, we have the right touch when it comes to recruiting staff: we focus on finding authentic, strong personalities, as we need people with the right mindset to survive in this competitive market. BEREM is already “noticeably different,” which is also reflected in the motto of our employer brand: “There’s another way!”
“In this collaborative environment, experts from both fields meet – we call it “BEOSers meeting BEREMers” – and pursue a common goal.”
Various locations held events to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of BEREM.
A key aspect of your joint ESG strategy with your BEOS colleagues involves social sustainability. How can property management contribute to this?
We are pursuing the specific goal of letting five percent of our space by 2025 to people or organisations that act for the common good and make selfless contributions – whether cultural, social or environmental. Ensuring diversity is a core element of the BEOSphere. At BEREM, we support our colleagues with their new rentals and raise awareness of providing the appropriate level of service – for example, by finding the right tone to communicate with them. We also pave the way to this goal by delivering the underlying data and informing BEOS about the latest situation.
Since your foundation, you have been working exclusively for BEOS and Swiss Life Asset Managers, not for any third parties. Looking at the typical market environment, this is rather unusual – you would say intentionally so!
Absolutely! We made a strategic decision back in 2013 and, above all, a groundbreaking one. Our workbench mentality, from which we all benefit today, could not have developed at all without it. We are now working hand in hand with BEOS very closely to tenants and perform an important interface role. This close cooperation gives us a real edge over our competition. Project managers and property managers work together as a well-established team and support each other – this is unique and shows that we are currently reaping the benefits of the BEOSphere.
“Even if the road gets a bit rocky, we simply go with it: not least because we make these decisions together.“
You can now look back on ten years of experience. What were the defining highlights for you that allowed you to grow together even more closely?
One milestone, and at the same time one of our biggest challenges, was the acquisition of the “Laetitia” portfolio in 2018 and 2019 – this was one of the most significant deals in BEOS’s history. Taking over the 32 properties from one day to the next and managing the data was a mammoth task. But as a team, we managed it extremely well. Regardless of their day-to-day business, our colleagues supported us as a matter of course – always in the knowledge that by being part of the workbench, they were also part of its success. In terms growing together, the BEOS anniversary trips to Lisbon and Amsterdam are worth mentioning: everyone lucky enough to attend experienced unforgettable highlights of our unique corporate culture.