When Workstage, a developer based in Grand Rapids, Mich., sought a way to measure the extent to which company buildings helped to recruit and retain workers as well as foster productivity and innovation, it developed a Web-based tool that used data developed over many years. The data included information collected by Workstage and its partners, in addition to more current facts from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Labor, among other sources. The Workstage RE (real estate) program updated antiquated approaches to analyzing the data. The new approach gauged the effect of real estate decisions, including the implementation of sustainable environmental practices, on workers and job candidates. Workstage RE, whose patent is pending, also allowed companies to identify business drivers and analyze the impact of real estate decisions by using multiple scenarios.
