Corporate Office Properties Trust focuses on its customer service to ensure repeat business and continued success.

“It’s a whole different way of building and operating buildings,” Griffin says. “(But) the right thing to do, if we can improve the environment through the kinds of buildings we own. It’s a way to make an impact and improve mankind.” Corporate Office Properties is a fully integrated and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, owning, managing and leasing office buildings. Its primary market is in the Washington, D.C., area. Headquartered in Columbia, Md., Corporate Office Properties has six other locations: Blue Bell and Harrisburg, Pa.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Antonio; St. Mary’s County, Md.; and northern Virginia. The company owns 189 buildings total; 170 are wholly-owned, the other 19 are held through joint ventures.

Corporate Office Properties won the first-ever Green Development Award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) last October.

“We are truly honored that our peers in the industry and the U.S. Green Building Council recognize our efforts in this important area,” Griffin said in a statement. “Green development practices are vital to our environment and, as our experience in the field shows, the result is both socially responsible and profitable.” The NAIOP award was developed in consultation with the U.S. Green Building Council, which describes itself as the nation’s leading coalition of building industry leaders working to promote environmentally responsible building and development. Griffin adds that the federal government is making an effort to improve the environment through green buildings. To obtain leases, new federal buildings will require LEED certification, according to Griffin.

Employment challenge
Griffin says finding, retaining and training talented employees is a challenge Corporate Office Properties works hard at. But Griffin predicts that now that the company is building more green buildings, younger people will be more interested in the company.

“(It is predicted that) in 2010, there will be a worker shortage,” he says. “Younger generations are very aware of the environment. For them to see we build buildings using recycled materials that make the environment healthier will mean something to them and make a difference.”

He adds that because of the predicted labor shortage, other building companies will need to change in order to attract employees. “Since there are not enough workers coming in to meet work demands, in the long-term, employers will do things to attract and retain employees, such as LEED-certified building,” Griffin notes. “We are already ahead [of competitors in that respect].”

Ongoing training
Corporate Office Properties has several training programs for new employees. Griffin says all employees go through a customer service training program, a company culture meeting where they are informed about the company’s history and policies, and a week-long hands-on training session at the company’s headquarters depending on their position.

Griffin says this week-long training session can include anything from the employee attending corporate meetings, meeting accountants or visiting a property. In addition, the company’s development and construction division has a two-week program for construction personnel. During this time, Griffin says, these employees sit in on bidding meetings, meet with architects and learn about budget goals on construction projects.

Corporate Office Properties also works hard at training and retaining the talented employees it does have. Griffin says several training programs keep the company’s customer service at its best. “If we are providing excellent customer service, then we have repeat business, which is the foundation of the company,” Griffin says.

Customer service
Last year, the company was awarded a No.1 rating for customer service in a large-owner category in the annual national CEL & Associates survey.

The extensive survey is conducted with more than two million office tenants who rank the buildings’ owners based on customer service. Griffin notes that two years ago, the company tied with another company at the No. 1 spot.

“We do not have occupancy issues,” Griffin says. “We have an outstanding group of tenants. Our tenants like doing business with us, which generates repeat business. Competitors can have other buildings or other locations, but they won’t have the relationships we have with our tenants.”

Griffin adds Corporate Office Properties is at the top of the industry financially, with among the highest earnings growth in the office sector. We are No. 1 in the country for total shareholder return of all equity REITs for the past 10 years.” Its development and construction division is “doing a record volume of construction this year,” Griffin says. “It is difficult to acquire buildings. One challenge our industry faces is the readily available amount of capital that is driving down cap rates.”

Better than predicted
An ongoing challenge is the real estate market, which is directly related to office demand. “In 1998 and 1999, it was a tough time to be a REIT,” he says. “No one was interested enough to allow the issuance of equity.” Griffin says that changed in 2000, and overall, REITs have performed better than predicted for six years in a row.

Future goals
“This is an interesting company – we’ve grown significantly, from 100 to almost 300 employees, and from a $300 million to almost $4 billion market capitalization,” Griffin says. “It hasn’t even been eight years. We’ve been focusing on values and a way to approach business.”

Corporate Office Properties’ new mission, vision and values will be unveiled Oct. 3, Griffin says. He reveals that key components include integrity, attention to detail and exceeding customer expectations.

Personal mission
Griffin adds that his own vision of the future of the company concerns its affect on society. “We want to impact our tenants and the community in a positive way, and improve our environment,” he explains.