Build to Rent Asset and Property Manager, CompassRock International, has recently trialled Reflection, an innovative new survey platform from Aon, a leading global professional services firm, to assess resident wellbeing at Market Quarter (formerly known as Bow Square), a Build to Rent (BTR) development in Southampton which CompassRock manages.
The primary goal of the trial was to identify enhanced insight on actionable areas for improvement, aiming to enhance the resident experience, reduce void periods, and increase rental income at Market Quarter, the 279-unit BTR development in central Southampton, managed by CompassRock International.
Traditional survey methods had fallen short of uncovering residents’ hidden attitudes and emotions, prompting the deployment of Aon's neurotech survey platform, Reflection. CompassRock specifically sought deep insights into residents' unfiltered attitudes toward sustainability, comfort, homeliness, happiness, and overall wellbeing.
Commenting on the deployment, Dominic Martin, Managing Director of CompassRock, said: “Reflection is mind-blowing. It’s very difficult to ‘unsee’ it once you experience the impact it has on where and how you focus your strategy, resources, and budget.”
Reflection utilises the Implicit Reaction Time (IRT) test to measure what people are prepared to say (explicit, moderated responses) and augments this with what they truly feel (implicit, unfiltered responses). The method has been employed for over 40 years by social psychologists and brands to understand what drives consumer behaviour and to connect with their audience in a more meaningful and effective way. It’s been highly successful in uncovering the emotions and non-conscious response patterns that shape people’s perceptions, guide their preferences, and trigger their decisions.
Emma Vigus, Business Development Director in the Aon Real Estate practice, said: “Reflection can be deployed in any situation where a deeper understanding of key stakeholders, and what drives their behaviours and attitudes, is required. It can be applied to any asset class and at multiple points in the asset lifecycle, from pre-planning in order to gain insight from the local community, through to pre-refurbishment to understand what occupiers really value.”
Aon typically manages the development and implementation of Reflection, from survey design to reporting and action planning, although, organisations can also opt for self-service. Reflection's simplicity, adaptability, and accessibility make it a powerful tool for ongoing evaluations in various organisational contexts.
Based on the findings of the trial, CompassRock will be partnering with its sister company Global Apartment Advisors (GAA) to roll out a full version of the Reflections survey across all CompassRock BTR properties, as well as advising other clients on how to apply this innovative approach to gain a better understanding of their residents’ wellbeing across the BTR sector.
