Retta – a pioneer in digital systems for property operations: “We remove the uncertainty from operations and optimise our clients’ portfolios”

Peace of mind for clients – and for technicians. Significant gains in both financial and environmental terms. These are some of the major benefits of the digital case management system for property inspection, servicing and fault reporting that the property group Retta introduced as early as 2007, as one of the industry’s pioneers in the field. “The platform is developed continuously to optimise existing systems, meet new needs and become even more user-friendly,” says Daniel Broldenburg, Retta’s Regional Manager Operations in Stockholm.

An important part of the business is about optimising clients’ property portfolios, where operations and servicing play a key role. As early as 2007, Retta introduced a digital system for its technicians’ work on inspection, servicing and corrective maintenance of properties.

The Retta group is one of the Nordics’ leading experts in brokerage and management services for residential, retail, logistics and business premises. In Sweden, where the business is mainly focused on commercial properties, Retta’s largest offices are in Stockholm, Västerås, Malmö and Gothenburg. Its approximately 220 clients include property companies, housing companies, fund managers, banks and other players in the real estate sector.
Daniel Broldenburg
“Every client, every property and every requirement is different. That means that well-established routines, checks and documentation, readily available on a shared digital platform, give our technicians a great deal of confidence, because they can easily find what needs to be done – and how. That in turn gives our clients peace of mind, since they know their properties are being maintained correctly,” says Daniel Broldenburg.

A structured way of working
Every property contains a large number of different components that have to be maintained in order to ensure a good environment for tenants and their visitors. It ranges from complex heating, electrical and ventilation systems to cleaning, grounds maintenance and even the care of works of art.
“On the first of every month, all technicians receive an action list of what is to be checked in each property. Working with checks in this structured way means we can prevent faults from arising and minimise disruption for the tenant. We know when something deviates and we are quick to put the fault right before the tenant notices it themselves.”

Part of the operations team’s daily work involves monitoring energy consumption in the properties. Retta’s technicians report energy consumption for each property every month. Most modern properties have efficient control systems for ventilation and heating plant, which make it possible to achieve an optimal indoor climate at low energy consumption.
“But these systems are advanced and require supervision in order to function optimally throughout the property’s life cycle. We have trained technicians who monitor and adjust our clients’ systems in order to identify efficiency measures and optimise energy consumption – which is good for both finances and the environment,” says Daniel Broldenburg.

Continuously looking for potential improvements
Together with their clients, Retta’s operations teams are constantly looking for opportunities to make improvements and reduce environmental impact.
“We try in various ways to inspire our clients and partners to reduce their impact on the environment. That includes helping our clients optimise their energy use.”
“In addition, all new employees complete environmental training, to motivate and inform every member of staff and raise their level of expertise,” says Daniel Broldenburg.

Picking up on new needs
Retta’s technicians work continuously on improving the indoor climate, systematic fire safety management (SBA) checks, weekly and monthly tests of fire alarms and sprinkler systems, energy optimisation, analysis of operating statistics and calling off statutory inspections. The aim is to pick up on changes and new needs in clients’ property portfolios at an early stage.
“We naturally also handle incoming fault reports. In addition, each month we carry out a spot-check follow-up – a customer satisfaction survey (NKI) – on reported faults for quality purposes, so that we continuously improve the way we treat people, the work we do and our communication with our client’s customer, that is to say the tenant.”
“What is decisive for us in delivering on our assignment is having skilled technicians who understand how the service is to be provided and who respect the tasks they are given. That is why we place great emphasis on training and professional development,” says Daniel Broldenburg.

The Retta group operates in Finland and Sweden. Retta AB is responsible for business functions in Sweden, where 175 specialists manage 650 properties with a combined area of 4.3 million square metres on behalf of 220 clients. The business rests on five pillars – asset management, financial management, technical management, property services, and environment and sustainability.