How Cadillac Fairview Optimized Their Operational Efficiency with Asana
FOCUS
Process Optimization, Software Implementation and Training
SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTED
Asana
TEAMS TRANSFORMED
Digital & Experience Team, The SHOP (Graphic Design), Regional Team, Project Management Team
Cadillac Fairview is an instantly recognizable name in the commercial real estate industry. Based in Toronto, Canada, the brand long established itself as a powerhouse in investing, owning, and managing premium properties primarily across Canada and the United States. With a portfolio boasting 73 properties and spanning 50 million square feet, Cadillac Fairview has been a beacon of stability and growth within the industry.
Being a leader in the industry means always looking ahead and constantly aiming for improvement. After all, achieving a remarkable value of over $40 billion requires forward-thinking and strategic planning. That’s exactly what Cadillac Fairview did with their operations. They saw an opportunity to improve their operations and proactively sought solutions to address potential challenges before they could become real problems.
While Cadillac Fairview was planning for the future, their core team (Digital & Experience Team, The SHOP, Regional and Project Management Team) was drowning in a sea of operational inefficiencies:
Their heavy reliance on spreadsheets scattered important data and delayed real-time access.
The use of multiple, non-integrated software across different teams strained internal communication and collaboration.
Undocumented workflows led to confusion and affected team productivity and clarity regarding tasks.
Leadership faced a great lack of visibility into day-to-day operations.
Manual task management drained the teams’ time and bandwidth.
Cadillac Fairview urgently needed streamlined processes to address these inefficiencies and support their expanding operations.
Initial Engagement and Discovery
When Cadillac Fairview reached out to us, they had a clear understanding of their challenges and a vision for more streamlined and efficient operations. The leadership team shared a clear and honest picture of the challenges they were facing in their day-to-day work and walked us through the technical and procedural roadblocks that were slowing them down.
The first phase in our solution process is taking a deep dive into the operational rhythm and culture at Cadillac Fairview. This involved conducting workshops, interviews, and shadowing sessions to see the ins and outs of their daily operations. We wanted to understand not just the ‘what’ of their challenges, but the ‘why’ behind the ways things were done. With a closer look into their current process, we were able to design solutions that made sense for their specific needs and team culture.
Based on what we learned during our discovery phase, we collaborated with the team at Cadillac Fairview to create a roadmap that not only aimed at fixing the current operational challenges but also building a scalable and sustainable operational framework for the future. We introduced Cadillac Fairview to Asana as a key component of our strategy. Our goal was to make Asana the central platform for improving collaboration and communication. We also put together training and support to help everyone on the team get on board with the new way of doing things comfortably and confidently.
“We can finally see everything in one place.”
—Senior Manager Strategy & Enablement, Cadillac Fairview
Asana Implementation: Data Centralization, Training & Continual Improvement
It became very clear to us Cadillac Fairview’s need for a tool that could seamlessly integrate with their workflows, improve team collaboration, and provide a transparent view of ongoing projects and tasks to all relevant stakeholders. Asana stood out as the best fit, offering a user-friendly interface, easy task and project tracking, and wide integration capabilities that would bridge the disjointed communication and collaboration gaps the teams experienced.
Implementing Asana became the basis of our strategy. The goal was to move away from the scattered spreadsheets, siloed information, and create a centralized, accessible repository for all project-related data. Asana’s features allowed for accurate task assignment, timeline tracking, and progress visualization that could be accessed by anyone at any time. This promoted transparency across all hierarchical levels within the company.
Another key objective for us was facilitating education and user adoption of Asana within the Cadillac Fairview for a successful implementation. We developed tailored training sessions and comprehensive guide materials that catered to different roles within the team. This enabled each member, from leadership to frontline staff, to navigate and utilize Asana effectively. We also provided continuous support through dedicated channels to address any questions, troubleshoot issues, and assist in optimizing the use of Asana to suit the evolving needs of the teams throughout the whole engagement.
Continual improvement is something we take pride in at Cirface, and that’s another important element in our implementation. Throughout the project, we were monitoring and iterating upon the Asana implementation to maintain its relevance and effectiveness within Cadillac Fairview’s operations. Through regular check-ins and feedback loops, we were able to understand how the tool was being used, the challenges users were facing, and the additional requirements that arose as their processes evolved. As a result, the implementation was continually refined, and this allowed Asana to remain a valuable and integral tool within Cadillac Fairview's improved, streamlined operational framework.
Results: Improved Communication, Fewer Bottlenecks and Better Clarity
After bringing Asana into the daily operations at Cadillac Fairview, things really started to change. The centralization of data eliminated the chaos of scattered information and spreadsheets. This meant that everyone could see what was happening in real-time and allow for smoother collaboration. Tasks were clear, progress was visible to everyone, and all team members, no matter their role, could dive in and get involved with full knowledge of what was going on.
Here’s a closer look at the major improvements that Asana brought across the different teams at Cadillac Fairview:
1. Digital & Experience Team
Centralized Content Planning: Moving from a scattered, multi-platform system (including Google Sheets) to Asana’s Master Calendar helped streamline content coordination and provided a comprehensive view of all content-related tasks.
Empowered Marketing Coordinators: Through training, accurate process documentation, and iterative improvement, team members effectively adopted Asana to its full potential. The result was a coherent and consistent content management.
2. The SHOP (Graphic Design)
Integrated Task Management: Making Asana their main hub for task management, we improved visibility and streamlined workflows for the Graphic Design team. This promoted a unified approach to handling operations and daily tasks.
Improved Operational Oversight: The transition to Asana ensured that every task was tracked and managed within a consolidated framework.
3. Regional Team
Customized Asana Experience: Given that this team was new to Asana, our priority was to tailor the platform based on their unique needs.
Automated & Refined Workflows: The introduction of advanced workflow automation and refined capacity planning within Asana eliminated earlier inefficiencies and paved the way for smoother operations.
4. Project Management Team
Tailored Project Management Software: We developed custom software within Asana focusing on key areas like Change Management, and also integrated Waterfall & Agile project scheduling templates, and we strengthened it with thorough documentation.
Improved Operational Agility: The shift from Google Sheets to Asana meant the Project Management Team moved with more clarity and agility in their operations. This meant every project was managed with utmost precision and control.
Using Asana, team communication became more cohesive and efficient. No longer were departments working in silos; they were now linked together in a collaborative environment. In addition, our tailored training and support gave each person at Cadillac Fairview the confidence and know-how to use Asana to its fullest. Asana’s straightforward setup, together with our thorough training and ongoing help, allowed every team member to get the most out of the tool. This meant the team could get straight to working more efficiently without having to struggle with a learning curve.
The collaboration between Cadillac Fairview and our team at Cirface addressed surface-level operational challenges and successfully introduced process enhancements to ensure sustainability and scalability for the future. Through strategic tool implementation, strong training, and a commitment to continual improvement, we were able to forge a future-proof operational framework that not only resolves the challenges of today but also adapts and evolves to meet the demands of tomorrow. This operational setup fortifies Cadillac Fairview’s industry-leading position and also gears them up to navigate future challenges with flexibility.
Our ongoing partnership is a testament to a mutual commitment to excellence and we continue to explore opportunities for further optimization and innovative advancements in operational strategy.
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