THE FUTURE IS NOW. CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD IS BACK IN THE OFFICE. MOSTLY. In the fall of 2020, the commercial real estate services firm had shifted to a hybrid model, with then managing principal Jason deVries saying he didn’t see the company going 100% remote anytime soon. Four years on, Cushman & Wakefield’s employees are back in the office most days, but the firm has built some flexibility into job descriptions. “We’ve learned so much since those early days of the pandemic, now roughly five years ago, and we continue to learn more every day. One thing that we have taken from this unparalleled experience is the critical importance of in-person interaction and development and worker well-being. This is especially important to our new employees and new brokers we’ve onboarded since that time. While their expectations and experiences are a bit different than pre-pandemic culture, a constant we see is our new employees craving an understanding of how to succeed and ‘learn on the fly,’” says managing principal Alison Beddard. As of January 2025, Cushman & Wakefield’s corporate policy requires employees to report to the office at least three days a week, and management expects four to five in-person days for roles that require in-person responsibilities. “We were prepared for distributed work (including remote work) before the pandemic and have leaned into strengthening our corporate teams, so we have both at the company. This has provided us with an efficient and effective model to best serve our clients through this relatively new normal,” Beddard wrote. “We have a great example of an experience this past year,” she added. “We offered our C&W internship program and fielded candidates for Seattle and Portland. We had two interns identified from Seattle and one from Portland. Our office in Seattle was space- constrained and not able to accommodate the interns in person. Had we hosted the interns in Seattle, they would have had to have worked more remotely. But in Portland, we have a beautiful, inviting office experience and room to grow. Our Portland brokerage team was enthusiastic and ready to engage with the interns. We first asked if the interns would be willing to all locate in Portland over the summer so that we could drive the in-person experience as we knew it would be an important factor to their experience and learning journey. They all agreed to the location, and the program worked out great.” Commercial real estate isn’t the easiest business to be in in 2025. While Cushman & Wakefield staff are back in the office, many companies downsized or gave up their offices altogether — in downtown Portland and elsewhere. But Beddard says Portland’s high vacancy rates aren’t the whole story. “While office vacancy in downtown Portland is at a record high, the suburbs continue to attract tenancy,” Beddard wrote. “It’s important to point out that office space is still leasing and will continue to evolve in both submarkets. It’s also important to think about the impact of the office experience and how landlords can set themselves apart to deliver an enjoyable and attracting tenant experience.” She also notes that office-vacancy rates were high before COVID hit, with a “glut of office vacancy” and many offices headed toward redevelopment or reimagination. “That category hasn’t recovered, and some would say it isn’t coming back. That has created an over-emphasis on how we interpret the vacancy impact. The city of Portland also serves as an important partner in creating a safe, walkable environment that is tenant- and employer-friendly. There is so much opportunity here in driving a portfolio mix that engages live-play-work for years to come,” Beddard wrote. “We expect to see more positive activity in 2025 as tenants have a better handle on their plans and as lease expirations roll. We are in fact seeing a trend of tenants committing to longer-term leases to accommodate the needs of their employees as well as their business.” federal government, and a number of large private-sector businesses have followed suit, with large companies like Target and Walmart canceling DEI programs. Anti-DEI backlash has affected the world of philanthropy, at least at the federal level, with the National Endowment for the Arts canceling small grants to underserved communities and placing restrictions on which types of organizations it would fund. Meyer Memorial Trust is a private foundation whose initial investment came from the estate of the late grocer Fred Meyer, but Fick is paying close attention to the chaotic political climate. “Politically, it’s pretty obvious that things are shifting rapidly and that much of what is changing at the federal level is not aligned to Meyer’s mission, values or what we know is needed to improve things here in Oregon,” Fick wrote to OB. “Our greatest concern in this moment is to make sure that our nonprofit community is supported and resourced. So we’re in close conversation with organizational leaders to identify any gaps or delays in funding that may result.” Fick also said the institution wants to “defend and protect philanthropic freedom, so that funders have the ability to do their work effectively,” and to be more proactive in telling the stories of success, including the data that drives MMT’s strategy and approach to grantmaking. “We have more work to do to build understanding of the strengths that a diverse and inclusive culture brings to all of us, whether you’re a private foundation, as we are, or a business, or academic or government institution. “One thing that I’m really lucky to have is an intensely mission-driven, highly motivated team. Meyer staff are here to make a difference in the lives of Oregonians. For that I’m grateful, even as we’re entering challenging political times,” Fick wrote. Continued from previous page 40
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