Benchmarking of workplace performance

What is it about?

This paper presents a process model of value adding corporate real estate and facilities management and discusses which indicators can be used to measure and benchmark workplace performance. The paper compares performance measurement and benchmarking theory with empiric data from different work environments. 12 value parameters come to the fore 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 to support monitoring and benchmarking workplace performance.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

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 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.

Perspectives