The Night of the Companies reveals the dynamic look of Cluj-Napoca: an energetic community with modern office spaces.

On October 11th, several companies from Cluj-Napoca opened their offices during the first edition of the Night of the Companies event, supported by CBRE, the global and national leader of the real estate consulting market. CBRE studied the status of the city lying on the shore of Someș from the Romanian office market point of view, concluding in reconfirming the leader position of Cluj-Napoca among the regional cities.

According to the data for the first nine months, Cluj-Napoca is the regional star of the Romanian real estate investment market in the office sector, attracting the largest share of all the regional cities. About 164 million euros were invested in Cluj-Napoca in the first three quarters of the year, equaling 95 percent of the value of investments in the office space market in Bucharest.

The appetite for investments in the purchase of office buildings indicates the increase in the number of employees in the city in recent years and the diversification of the industries in which Cluj is active. Generally, the share of employees in Cluj for each industry is similar to the total share of the number of employees in Cluj compared to the national level one, respectively 4 percent. 

One of the industries available in Cluj is over double this percentage. While nationally, out of the 8.7 million employees, 185,360 work in the IT&C sector, in Cluj, IT&C companies reach an impressive 9 percent of the total national employees in this industry, respectively 16,022 people, which situates Cluj in the top of the Romanian cities, next to Bucharest.

Thus, it is not by chance that some of the biggest beneficiaries of the local office market are precisely the companies in this sector, which use the seductive power of a modern workspace for their strategies of attracting the workforce, which are built and arranged on principles of wellness, technology and flexibility.

“Presently, many of the companies we interact with are analyzing their own space or the one dedicated to a new office regarding the degree of personalized experience they offer to each employee. As experience architects, we are aware of the value rendered by this way of understanding the workspace and we encourage any decision-maker involved in the process-CEO, CFO or HR manager, to explore this new approach ”, explains Tudor Ionescu, Head of Advisory & Transaction Services, Office, CBRE Romania.

The effervescence of Cluj office spaces was also found last week at the employer branding event held for the first time in Romania - the Night of the Companies, whose exclusive real estate partner was CBRE Romania. More than 100.000 sqm of workspaces, including mainly offices, were accessible to visitors during the day of October 10th. Conceived as a "beauty contest" of the companies, as the organizers declared, the event attracted 1,600 participants in a circuit that connected 22 companies plus an institution (School of Police Agents) throughout 10 hours with the help of 5 special bus lines which ran once every hour.

“A highly essential insight of The Night of the Companies is that besides jobs offers, the visitors had access to the inner atmosphere of each company and so, they were able to get a clear picture about its organisational culture and values. Such openness created excitement for them and satisfaction for companies, which were very pleased by the opportunity to present themselves in front of the potential employees”, stated Szász Péter, the manager of The Night of the Companies.

Prompted by CBRE together with the event organizers, the participants had the opportunity to vote "the most w @ w office in Cluj" on the Facebook page dedicated to the Night of the Companies project. Besides the possibility of winning a prize, they also considered a recognition of the space that impressed them the most in terms of well-at-work feeling. The offices that came out following the vote of those who experienced the spaces were Accenture, Goodwill Consulting, Geomant, Bosch and BDO Romania. At the end of the event, one of the voters of the BDO Romania office was declared the winner based on the results obtained by drawing lots.

“Visitors were advised to study the new office where they would like to work and to consider the aspect of the well-being mood they convey, not just from the perspective of the material perks. Following the studies that we carry out at group level, we are aware of the important contribution for the productivity of the employee as a result of applying wellness principles in the workplace. For example, only the presence of natural light and plants in the workspace improve productivity by 10-12 percent. We visited a number of offices at the Night of the Companies and shared some of these concepts with their representatives,” stated Anca Păuna, senior consultant, Advisory & Transaction Services, Office, CBRE Romania

According to CBRE Research data, the increase in the number of employees in the IT&C sector is estimated at 4 percent in 2022, which will maintain Cluj as a main interest area for the investors in the office market, but will also positively affect the other sectors of the local real estate market.

About CBRE

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (based on 2018 revenue). The company has more than 90,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate investors and occupiers through approximately 480 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. In Romania, CBRE offers an extensive range of integrated services including transaction management and coordination, project management, Design and Build services, property management, investment management, evaluation, property rental, strategic consulting, property sales, mortgage services and development services. For more information, please visit www.cbre.ro.