This month’s customer spotlight shines on Carl Kenney, Vice President of R.J. Kelly Companies. From its modest beginnings as a residential homebuilder in 1951, R.J. Kelly Companies has since developed over five million square feet of commercial space, along with several hundred homes and condominiums, throughout New England.

Carl has nearly a decade of property management experience including leasing, asset management, tenant relations, contract negotiations, budget overview and personnel management. Prior to joining R.J Kelly Company, he worked with CBRE New England and KS Partners in their property management divisions.

Carl was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to speak with us…

What has been your biggest success in your current role?

Developing our Property Management division to incorporate modern technology into our everyday procedures. A few of the most crucial items included in this regard are a user-friendly online work order software system, utility tracking structure, and incorporating all facets of property management into one common site to enhance the overall tenant experience.

You seem to have really embraced technology. What motivated you to do so?

Technology has become an intricate part of the commercial real estate field. In order to provide tenants with the most current and efficient services we need to be constantly analyzing and improving in all areas. To better manage and run commercial properties you need to see things from a tenant’s perspective. Being able to provide a platform through technology that includes solutions to everyday issues, such as invoice tracking, building hours of operations, building documents, issuing of new access cards, conference room availability is instrumental.

How important is it for senior real estate professionals to stay current with CRE technology and advances?

It is critical for all senior real estate professionals to be up to date with technology. CRE will continue to be an industry founded on relationships, understanding the market and the knowledge of running an efficient property, however technology is now a major part of the industry. Having the platform in place to offer web-based amenities to tenants will only assist in obtaining perspective tenants but also retain existing tenants.

What kind of impact has technology made for your clients and customers?

Overall, technology has impacted our business positively as we continue to provide high level service to our clients and customers. Our goal is to enhance the tenant experience. A request once submitted through the platform generates notifications to multiple parties allowing us to offer quicker response times. While technology is constantly changing, we continue to be innovative, and by using this platform it creates a competitive advantage.

What are three words that describe your experience with Building Engines and why would you recommend this software to your peers?

Accountable, Customer-focused and Innovative.

The platform captures tracking of work orders, managing tenant requests, creating invoices and storing/updating records. By providing easy-to-use software and organizing it in one common site, Building Engines ultimately assists us in providing the absolute best service to our tenants and clients.