In episode 425, host Mike Petrusky welcomes Sue Asprey Price, EMEA CEO and Global Head of Portfolio Services, Work Dynamics at JLL. Drawing on more than three decades of global real estate experience, Sue shares why workplace, corporate real estate, and facility management leaders have an increasingly strategic role in helping organizations navigate AI, workforce transformation, and changing employee expectations. Together, Mike and Sue discuss why real estate has evolved from a business utility into a business strategy, how workplace leaders can partner with HR, IT, finance, and operations to achieve shared outcomes, and why creating “commute-worthy” workplaces has become more important than ever. They also explore emerging AI adoption trends in FM, the growing need for broader business leadership skills, and practical ways workplace leaders can create environments that foster collaboration, innovation, and performance.
Agenda
- Why real estate is increasingly viewed as a business strategy rather than a business utility
- How AI is changing facility management and workplace operations
- Why workplace leaders need stronger partnerships across HR, IT, finance, and operations
- How organizations can create more valuable and purposeful workplace experiences
- The leadership skills FM and CRE professionals need for the future
What you need to know: Workplace takeaways
Takeaway 1: Real estate is now a strategic business function
For years, many organizations viewed workplace and real estate teams primarily as operational functions responsible for providing space and controlling costs. Sue argues that perspective has fundamentally changed.
Today’s workplace leaders directly influence talent attraction, employee experience, organizational agility, brand perception, and business performance. As organizations navigate AI adoption and workforce transformation, the workplace becomes a strategic lever that helps companies adapt and compete.
Rather than simply providing places to work, workplace leaders are helping organizations determine how work gets done and how employees connect, collaborate, and perform.
“Real estate is strategy. It’s not just a utility any longer.”
Takeaway 2: AI is accelerating change across facility management
According to JLL research shared by Sue, approximately 45% of occupiers are already scaling AI within facility management operations, with adoption expected to reach 86% by 2030.
Much of that activity focuses on data-intensive areas, including portfolio analytics, space utilization, operational insights, and identifying patterns hidden within years of underused workplace and facilities data.
AI is helping organizations move from simply collecting data to acting on it. Sue explains: “We’ve been measuring these moments in time, and now actually we can do something with that data.”
For facility management leaders, the opportunity extends beyond automation. AI can enable better decisions, sharper forecasting, improved resource allocation, and more proactive operations.
Takeaway 3: The future workplace requires stronger cross-functional partnerships
Sue emphasizes that workplace leaders must increasingly work alongside HR, technology, finance, communications, and operations teams to create shared outcomes. Success can no longer be measured solely through occupancy costs or space metrics.
Instead, workplace initiatives must support broader organizational objectives such as employee engagement, productivity, innovation, agility, and talent retention.
As organizations transform, workplace leaders have an opportunity to bring different groups together around common goals.
Takeaway 4: Great workplaces create opportunities for collaboration and innovation
Sue points to design features such as internal staircases, gathering areas, and informal “bump zones” that increase opportunities for employees to connect naturally. These moments often lead to collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation that would not happen otherwise.
As AI handles more routine and analytical work, the value of human interaction, creativity, and relationship-building continues to increase. Workplaces that intentionally encourage these interactions can create stronger organizational cultures and better business outcomes.
“How do you get humans to interact in a way that may not feel natural? You do it in amazing environments.”
Takeaway 5: Don’t commute to compute
If employees simply need a place to process information, attend virtual meetings, or interact with digital tools, they may not need a premium workplace experience.
When people do come into the office, however, the experience should provide something they cannot easily get at home.
Purposeful environments, stronger collaboration opportunities, inspiring design, support for neurodiversity, and meaningful human connection all contribute to making the workplace worth the journey.
Her advice is simple but powerful: “Don’t commute to compute. But when you commute, make your journey a commute-worthy journey.”
Workplace management insights
- Real estate and workplace strategy are becoming core components of business strategy.
- AI adoption in facility management is accelerating rapidly and moving beyond experimentation.
- Workplace leaders must increasingly collaborate with HR, IT, finance, and operations.
- Workplace environments should support collaboration, innovation, and organizational agility.
- Organizations can unlock greater value from workplace and facilities data through AI.
- Purposeful workplace experiences help justify the commute and encourage engagement.
- Design features that encourage informal interaction can strengthen collaboration and culture.
- The future of work requires balancing technology adoption with meaningful human experience.
Explore the full library of Workplace Innovator podcast episodes for an in-depth look at workplace insights and watch the full video here.
