The RealService story so far... 2004 to today
In 2004, Howard and the company, with the active encouragement of Land Securities, Grosvenor and the Crown Estate founded The Real Estate Customer Service Group which is now known as the RealService Best Practice Group.
Howard adds: “In conjunction with our leading clients we recognised that there was no forum where best practice could be shared and benchmarked.”
With the active support of the British Property Federation, the RealService Best Practice Group was formed – a not for profit organisation funded by membership fees and sponsorships – and run and administered by RealService on behalf of the members.
The Group’s founding mission remains to improve customer service to occupiers through benchmarking and the sharing of best practice - and in so doing gain a better understanding of the link between improved customer service and performance.
Over the last five years, the Group has gone from strength to strength with members (which include public and private commercial and residential property companies, property investment managers and property management companies) representing a sizable proportion of the UK industry with combined gross assets worth in excess of £100 billion.
In 2006, the Group was runner-up in the category ‘Innovation of the Year’ at the Property Week Awards.
In 2007 RealService and IPD (Investment Property Databank) were commissioned by the Property Industry Alliance and CoreNet Global UK to create and conduct the first industry-wide UK Occupier Satisfaction Index (OSI). This annual opinion poll and index has become the leading barometer of occupier satisfaction and the results are closely monitored by the industry. The OSI is now in its third year.
Major changes took place in 2008. The company completed its first pan-European study in five countries for SEGRO. More fundamentally, however, Howard acquired the stakes owned by, joint venture partners, Kingsley Associates and The Lipsey Company, prompting the need to rename and rebrand the business as it enters its second decade.
“Going forward we wanted to say clearly what our business is about and remove the confusion that there seemed to be around the relationship between Kingsley Lipsey Morgan and the Best Practice Group,” says Howard.
“After much consultation we decided to rename Kingsley Lipsey Morgan, RealService. We feel this best describes what we are about as a business.”
Howard adds: “Ten years on, our original belief has been rewarded. A decade ago, people did not talk much about customer service, corporate responsibility or engaging stakeholders. The world of property has followed other industries and these have now become mainstream.”
“As our company completes its first ten years, our aim for the next decade is for real estate to be recognised as a true service industry.”