Orange Capital Partners

We’re sitting down with Puck Olde Kalter, Director of Asset Management at the European real estate investment and asset management company Orange Capital Partners (OCP). As Director of Asset Management, Puck focuses on several major strategic projects, such as sustainability, process optimization, and tenant satisfaction. In this client case, we discuss their focus on tenant satisfaction and how tenant surveys support this goal.

More than just a gut feeling

OCP has a diverse real estate portfolio worth approximately 5 billion euros, consisting of residential and retail properties across the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, and Finland. With a team of 70 colleagues, they work daily from local offices to provide a positive tenant experience. Puck explains this focus: “When we look at our residential portfolio, putting tenants at the center is a key theme. We achieve this by leveraging technology and innovation. One example is our LIV app, which helps us serve tenants better.” OCP is also working on making smart use of the vast amount of data available. “We’ve set up a data platform where information about properties and tenants come together. This allows us to make informed decisions rather than relying on gut feelings.”

Tenant-centric leasing means putting tenants first

During the conversation, Puck elaborates on what tenant-centric leasing means for OCP. “We strive for a positive tenant experience by understanding their needs, preferences, and satisfaction throughout the entire process and addressing issues proactively.” However, tenant-centric leasing comes with its challenges: “The biggest challenge is meeting the preferences and expectations of a highly diverse and geographically spread portfolio.” Fortunately, OCP is getting to know its tenants increasingly better by investing in technology, communication, and tenant satisfaction surveys.

Comparison, context, and perspective

For several years, Customeyes has conducted tenant satisfaction surveys for OCP in the Netherlands. “With the tenant surveys, we gain better insight into satisfaction levels, current issues, and tenant needs. In the Netherlands, we participate in the benchmark survey, allowing us to compare ourselves to other institutional investors.” After each survey, Customeyes provides an e-book with further analysis of the results. A multi-regression analysis puts the findings into perspective, helping to better understand results for properties, such as for pre-war homes. The benchmark survey also sheds light on how OCP’s positioning compares to other institutional investors.

Addressing different needs immediately

Since last year, Customeyes has also conducted tenant surveys in Denmark. Puck explains that cultural differences must be taken into account: “In the Netherlands, we have an extensive tenant satisfaction survey. In consultation with our colleagues in Denmark, we shortened and streamlined the questionnaire to encourage higher response rates.” The results of the Danish survey are compared with scores in the Netherlands to gain a clearer picture.

In addition to satisfaction questions, the survey also includes questions about tenants’ needs. This helps determine whether tenants are interested in extra services or more neighbourhood interaction. “In Denmark, there’s a strong demand for smart lockers for package deliveries and AEDs. It’s exciting to immediately start addressing these specific needs. These need-based questions were also asked in the Netherlands before and turned out to be ‘spot-on’ for Denmark as well.”

Continuously improving and staying informed

Following the survey results, improvement sessions were organised in collaboration with Customeyes. During these sessions, action plans were developed in cooperation with property managers. The sessions focused on understanding the causes behind the scores and brainstorming solutions for improvement. Puck explains: “Proactive and tenant-focused communication was at the heart of these sessions.”

OCP plans to continue and strengthen its tenant-centric approach with these plans. However, according to Puck, action plans alone are not enough: “The current real estate sector is largely traditional, with systems that often don’t enable companies to meet tenants’ needs and expectations. In today’s society, organisations like Coolblue continuously update their customers and offer tenant-focused customer service. By responding to that trend, we aim to keep tenant-centric leasing at the forefront in the future.”

As a tip for other organisations, Puck emphasises the importance of setting clear and achievable goals: “By setting realistic objectives and actively involving tenants in improvement initiatives, organisations can optimise tenant-centricity and enhance tenant satisfaction.”