Per Anker Jensen
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19 records found
1
Purpose: This paper aims to explore the added value of healthy workplaces for employees and organizations, in particular regarding employee satisfaction, labour productivity and facility cost. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a narrative review of journal papers and other sources covering the fields of building research, corporate real estate management, facilities management, environmental psychology and ergonomics. Findings: The review supports the assumption of positive impacts of appropriate building characteristics on health, satisfaction and productivity. Correlations between these impacts are still underexposed. Data on cost and economic benefits of healthy workplace characteristics is limited, and mainly regard reduced sickness absence. The discussed papers indicate that investing in healthy work environments is cost-effective. Originality/value: The findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between physical characteristics of the environment and health, satisfaction, productivity and costs. These insights can be used to assess work environments on these topics, and to identify appropriate interventions in value-adding management of buildings and facilities.
Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how facilities management (FM) and corporate real estate management (CREM) can add value to organisations by contributing to improved productivity of knowledge workers, and to explore interrelationships between productivity, employee satisfaction and other value parameters. Design/methodology/approach: This is a literature research of possible contributions of FM and CREM to improved labour productivity in relation to five activity areas of FM/CREM (portfolio management, project management, space and workplace management, property management and service management) and a first exploration of interrelationships between productivity and other value parameters. Findings: The findings indicate that FM and CREM most directly can contribute to productivity by space and workplace management that supports different types of work and organisational activities. Portfolio and project management can mostly contribute by providing appropriate locations, adjacency relations between different parts of the organisation and supporting process flow and logistics. Property management can contribute to productivity by ensuring business continuity and comfortable indoor climate. Service management can contribute by relieving staff from trivial tasks by efficient services and by providing exiting experiences. Productivity shows to be mainly positively related to satisfaction; insights into interrelationships with other value parameters are still limited. Practical implications: The results can be used to obtain a deeper understanding of how FM and CREM can add value to organisations by contributing to improved labour productivity. Practitioners can find inspiration on how to contribute to labour productivity and additional benefits within specific activity areas of FM and CREM. The exploration of interrelationships between productivity and other values can be used as input to a future research agenda. Originality/value: The paper adds new insights to the growing body of knowledge about how FM/CREM can contribute to increased labour productivity and how other value parameters may be interrelated with productivity.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an empirical-based typology of facilities management (FM) and corporate real estate management (CREM) interventions that can add value to the core business of organisations and possibly the wider society. The typology is explained, elaborated and discussed with the aim to reach a deeper understanding of value adding management in the context of FM and CREM. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on FM and CREM literature, a survey with 15 expert interviews from six different European countries and cases with examples of interventions from earlier research. Findings: The typology consists of six types of interventions, some mainly product-related, some mainly process-related and some that can be both. Each type is underpinned by examples from a case company and from interviews. Research limitations/implications: The number of interviews is limited. The typology with related interventions is not necessarily complete. However, the typology is regarded to include the most important interventions in the current state of practice of FM and CREM. Practical implications: The typology provides an overview of the different ways FM and CREM can add value. The cases and examples can be used as inspiration for developing specific interventions in practice. Originality/value: The typology is the first to provide a classification of FM and CREM interventions. By integrating findings from interviews and case studies, this typology contributes to a better understanding and practicing of value adding management.
Healthy workplaces
What we know and what else we need to know
Purpose: This paper aims to explore the impact of buildings on the creation of healthy workplaces (HWs) and end users’ physical and mental health and well-being. The paper presents available research on the impact of workplace layout, interior design, indoor climate and “green” offices. It ends with reflections on the main lessons learned, gaps in our current knowledge and suggestions for further research. Design/methodology/approach: A literature research has been conducted of all papers in four corporate real estate management and facilities management-oriented journals from 2008 to 2017 that discuss health and well-being and related topics such as satisfaction, productivity and creativity. Findings: A conceptual model to analyse impact factors for HWs covers the influence of many different variables. Most papers only discuss a particular influencing factor, mainly plants and indoor climate. Various papers show that the spatial layout, in particular the level of openness and opportunities for communication, concentration and privacy and interior design have an important impact on user satisfaction, perceived productivity support and creativity. These factors may have a positive impact on HWs as well and can also be benefits of HWs. Practical implications: The paper identifies, which factors are important to consider for creating HWs and potential benefits of HWs. Originality/value: This paper discusses the role of CREM and FM in creating HWs and reflects on the available knowledge, current omissions and the need for transdisciplinary follow-up research.
Measurement and benchmarking of workplace performance
Key issues in value adding management
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a process model of value-adding corporate real estate and facilities management and indicators that can be used to measure and benchmark workplace performance and the added value of workplace interventions for an organisation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper compares the performance measurement and benchmarking theory with current practice and data from different work environments. The paper builds on two books on adding value through buildings, facilities and services, both edited and co-authored by the authors of this paper. The books were based on literature reviews, interviews with practitioners, cross-border studies of performance measurement and benchmarking and in-depth analyses of various value parameters by experts from different countries. In addition, theory and empirical examples of benchmarking have been included. Findings: The paper presents 12 value parameters that are seen as relevant in measuring and benchmarking of workplace performance: four people-oriented, four business processes-related, two economic and two social parameters. Because not all values can be easily expressed in monetary units, various other ways of measuring are presented that can help to monitor and to benchmark workplace performance. The 12 values and ways to measure can be used to support a more integrated business case approach that goes beyond “dollar-metrics” and spreadsheet-based decision-making. Both quantitative and qualitative performance indicators, including hard and soft factors, are needed to define the trade-off between the costs and benefits of interventions in corporate real estate, facilities and services and to cope with the interests and needs of different stakeholders. Practical implications: To add value to an organisation, workplaces have to provide value for money by a positive trade-off between the benefits, i.e. support of the organisational objectives and the primary processes and the costs, time and risks connected with achieving these benefits. Widely used indicators to measure the costs are the investment costs, running costs and total cost of occupancy. These metrics are primarily connected to efficiency, i.e. to optimal use of the resources of a firm, but much less to effectiveness and benefits such as user satisfaction, productivity, health and well-being. Originality/value: The paper links performance measurement and benchmarking to value-adding corporate real estate and facilities management and presents new ways to measure and benchmark the performance of buildings, facilities and services in connection to organisational performance.
In order to add value to the organisation, the work environment has to provide value for money by a positive trade-off between the benefits i.e. support of the organisational objectives and the primary processes, and the costs, time and risks connected with achieving these benefits. Widely used indicators to measure the costs are the investment costs, running costs, and the Total Cost of Occupancy. These metrics are primarily connected to efficiency i.e. to optimally use the resources of a firm, but much less to effectiveness and benefits such as user satisfaction, productivity and well-being.
The paper compares performance measurement and benchmarking theory with empiric data from different work environments. The paper mostly builds on two books on adding value through buildings, facilities and services, both edited and co-authored by the authors of this paper. The books were based on literature reviews, interviews with practitioners, cross-border studies of performance measurement and benchmarking, and in-depth analyses of various value parameters by experts from various countries. In addition, theory and empirical examples of benchmarking have been included in the paper.
The paper presents 12 value parameters that may be relevant in measuring and benchmarking of workplace performance: four people oriented parameters, four business processes related values, two economic parameters and two social indicators. Because not all values can be easily expressed in monetary units, various other ways of measuring are presented that can help to monitor and to benchmark workplace performance. The findings can be used as input to a more integrated business case approach that goes beyond “dollar-metrics” and spreadsheet based decision-making. Applying both quantitative and qualitative performance indicators and including both hard and soft factors is needed to define the trade-off between the costs and benefits of interventions in corporate real estate, facilities and services, and to cope with the interests and needs of different stakeholders.
The paper links performance measurement and benchmarking to value adding corporate real estate and facilities management and presents new ways to measure and benchmark the performance of buildings, facilities and services in connection to organisational performance.
...
In order to add value to the organisation, the work environment has to provide value for money by a positive trade-off between the benefits i.e. support of the organisational objectives and the primary processes, and the costs, time and risks connected with achieving these benefits. Widely used indicators to measure the costs are the investment costs, running costs, and the Total Cost of Occupancy. These metrics are primarily connected to efficiency i.e. to optimally use the resources of a firm, but much less to effectiveness and benefits such as user satisfaction, productivity and well-being.
The paper compares performance measurement and benchmarking theory with empiric data from different work environments. The paper mostly builds on two books on adding value through buildings, facilities and services, both edited and co-authored by the authors of this paper. The books were based on literature reviews, interviews with practitioners, cross-border studies of performance measurement and benchmarking, and in-depth analyses of various value parameters by experts from various countries. In addition, theory and empirical examples of benchmarking have been included in the paper.
The paper presents 12 value parameters that may be relevant in measuring and benchmarking of workplace performance: four people oriented parameters, four business processes related values, two economic parameters and two social indicators. Because not all values can be easily expressed in monetary units, various other ways of measuring are presented that can help to monitor and to benchmark workplace performance. The findings can be used as input to a more integrated business case approach that goes beyond “dollar-metrics” and spreadsheet based decision-making. Applying both quantitative and qualitative performance indicators and including both hard and soft factors is needed to define the trade-off between the costs and benefits of interventions in corporate real estate, facilities and services, and to cope with the interests and needs of different stakeholders.
The paper links performance measurement and benchmarking to value adding corporate real estate and facilities management and presents new ways to measure and benchmark the performance of buildings, facilities and services in connection to organisational performance.
Background: The growing research on the added value of FM and CREM over the last decade has resulted in the development of several conceptual frameworks and the collection of much empirical data in practice. However, the practical application of current knowledge has shown to be limited and difficult. The reasons seem to be that the different frameworks are too complex and lack of common terminology and clear operationalisations of intervention-impact relationships.
Approach (Theory/Methodology): A generalised Value Adding Management process model is developed based on a common cause-effect model identified in existing conceptual frameworks combined with the basic process model of input → throughput → output. The proposed model consists of interventions as input, management of implementation as throughput and added value as output/outcome.
Results and practical implications: The Value Adding Management model provides a simple framework which aims at supporting the practical management and measurement of added value. A typology with six types of FM/CREM interventions is developed from earlier research. The concept of Value Adding Management is investigated and the 12 most important added value parameters are identified.
Research limitations: The process model still has to be tested on its empirical validity and practical applicability. This is being done and will be presented in a forthcoming book on how to manage and measure value adding by FM and CREM.
Originality/value: The Value Adding Management process model condensates research in an original and simple model with the potential to make value adding management more applicable in practice. ...
Background: The growing research on the added value of FM and CREM over the last decade has resulted in the development of several conceptual frameworks and the collection of much empirical data in practice. However, the practical application of current knowledge has shown to be limited and difficult. The reasons seem to be that the different frameworks are too complex and lack of common terminology and clear operationalisations of intervention-impact relationships.
Approach (Theory/Methodology): A generalised Value Adding Management process model is developed based on a common cause-effect model identified in existing conceptual frameworks combined with the basic process model of input → throughput → output. The proposed model consists of interventions as input, management of implementation as throughput and added value as output/outcome.
Results and practical implications: The Value Adding Management model provides a simple framework which aims at supporting the practical management and measurement of added value. A typology with six types of FM/CREM interventions is developed from earlier research. The concept of Value Adding Management is investigated and the 12 most important added value parameters are identified.
Research limitations: The process model still has to be tested on its empirical validity and practical applicability. This is being done and will be presented in a forthcoming book on how to manage and measure value adding by FM and CREM.
Originality/value: The Value Adding Management process model condensates research in an original and simple model with the potential to make value adding management more applicable in practice.
workers. In particular the support of conducting focused work, concentration and communication is essential. It is therefore recommended to at least measure the extent to which people perceive the work environment as supportive to these activities.
...
workers. In particular the support of conducting focused work, concentration and communication is essential. It is therefore recommended to at least measure the extent to which people perceive the work environment as supportive to these activities.
model provides the overall framework for the book, which is explained further in the following chapters in part I.
...
model provides the overall framework for the book, which is explained further in the following chapters in part I.