How to align the organization of the CREM-Department to strategy during a recession

Purpose – In a time of economic downfall a lot of companies choose to reduce corporate real estate (CRE) costs instead of aiming at more user-oriented CRE strategies. This also affects the budgets that are available for CRE. Therefore it is important that the organization of the CRE management (CREM)-department is optimally aligned with the CRE-strategy. This study provides CRE-managers with a tool for evaluating the organization of the CREM-department when applying the CRE-strategy of cost reduction. Design/methodology/approach – The formulated evaluation tool for the alignment of the organization of the CREM-department is a result of an explorative study. First a literature study was conducted which led to a theoretical model of factors that influence the organization of the CREM-department, with regard to five components: Organizational structure, Sourcing, Centralization, Process management and Company culture. Then empirical data was collected through interviews with two groups of respondents, namely CREM-departments who served as cases and CRE-consultants to hear their expert opinions. Cross-case analysis of the eight CREM-departments and a comparison of these results with the expert opinion of the consultants were used to look for links between the CREM department components and each CRE strategy. Findings – It was not possible to formulate links between every possible CRE strategy and the CREM-organization as most of the cases had implemented the same strategy, namely cost reduction. This did provide the opportunity to construct a clear evaluation model for this particular strategy. Not all the themes were aligned with the chosen CRE-strategy identically by all the CREM-departments with a cost reduction strategy, but many similarities came forward and were backed by the CREM experts. This was worked into an evaluation model on the alignment of the organization of the CREM-department with a cost reduction strategy. Research limitations/implications – The model developed is especially relevant for CREM-departments who have similar characteristics as the CREM-departments who served as cases: large companies with a division macro-organizational structure that apply the CRE-strategy of cost reduction. The evaluation model does not spell out exactly how the CREM organization should be managed and formed, but does provide insight in a number of main choices that can influence the organization of CREM. The purpose of the evaluation model is that the CREM department becomes aware of the consequences for the organization of CREM when implementing a cost reduction aimed CRE-strategy

How employees value the support of activity based and traditional work environments

New Ways of Working (NewWoW) are popular, both for increasing employee and organisational effectiveness and attracting new talent. As Corporate Real Estate management (CREM) is responsible for delivering a supportive office environment for employees and the organisation as a whole, they must align by providing a work environment that aims for employee satisfaction, increased support of productivity and other added values. This is often done through introducing the shared workspaces and facilities of activity based working (ABW). However, lack of proof of advantages of such work environments is feeding a more reserved attitude towards NewWoW. This paper aims to provide evidence for differences between traditional and ABW environments in workplace support of organisational goals as perceived by employees. Online questionnaires (2010-2014) from the Leesman Database amongst 47,913 office employees (mainly Western European organizations) were analysed for employee opinions on workplace support. Respondents were split in two groups based on their workspace: ABW or a traditional, dedicated seat. Statistical tests of differences between both groups provided insight in five types of added value. The ABW employees were more positive on all added values included in the questionnaire and the support of their workspace for important activities. Also, they were more satisfied in general and with most of the individual features and facilities of their work environment. Only satisfaction with their desk, chair, personal storage, phone equipment, desk/room booking systems, in-office network connectivity and the ability to personalise was lower than the employees working at dedicated seats. The design of the ABW workspace had a more positive (perceived) impact on culture, corporate image and environmental sustainability. Further, they agreed more with statements that the design of their organisation's workspace contributes to a sense of community, creates an enjoyable environment to work in and enables them to work productively. The results from this analysis provide CRE managers with proof for implementing ABW environments in their office portfolio. Not only did employees that work flexibly feel more supported in their work by thei

How CREM can measure added value of building design : knowledge sharing in research buildings

Purpose- In present day society, focused on innovation, knowledge sharing (KS) is essential. Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) needs to provide accommodation designed for people to meet more often and share both tacit and explicit knowledge. Most workplace descriptions do not provide quantitative information on how the design actually stimulates KS. They cannot be implemented straight into a design nor convince general management in budget discussions. This paper tests the suitability of spatial network methodologies to provide this proof. Design/methodology/approach - After developing a conceptual model from literature, the model is tested with a case-study of one large research driven organisation in the Netherlands. For each possible dyad between 138 employees (= 9453 dyads), several KS indicators and workplace aspects are studied with statistical analyses. Findings - KS is clearly related to the allocation of people to the rooms and workplaces in a research building. Bumping into each other does not appear the reason for this relation. Up to distances of 22 meters dyads share average or higher amounts of knowledge. It is ambiguous whether the spatial network analysis methodology is relevant for measuring added value of the workplace for KS. Originality/value - This paper provides empirical evidence on a ‘softer’ added value of the workplace, which is scarce. Previous studies relied mainly on qualitative descriptions of the workplace, while this paper tests a methodology to quantify the workplace in measurable aspects and correlate them statistically to organisational outcome measures. Keywords Corporate Real Estate Management, Knowledge sharing, Added value, Spatial network analysis, Building desig

The influence of personality on user satisfaction: multi-tenant offices

Many different multi-tenant offices have arisen over the last decades, as building owners address the changing nature of the workplace–a need for users to share facilities. However, the existing literature on multi-tenant buildings from the point of view of user satisfaction is scarce, limiting input for user-centred design. This study analyses the influence of personality on user satisfaction with multi-tenant office characteristics. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed among users of 17 different multi-tenant offices (business centres, incubators serviced offices and co-working places), which yielded 190 respondents. To determine the effects of personal characteristics, a multiple regression model was performed per office variable category. Results showed that users who are more extraverted, open to new experiences and more agreeable were overall more satisfied with the multi-tenant office characteristics. However, the effects of demographics and work-related characteristics were much larger. Men, older users and users working in an open and flexible work environment were overall more satisfied with the office characteristics. Owners, developers and managers can use these results for developing user-centred designs, optimizing the level of satisfaction in their offices.</p

Firms' perceived benefits of shared facilities on Dutch science parks: empirical evidence

Science parks as area developments have existed for decades and have captivated the attention of academics and policy-makers for their supposedly positive impact on resident organisations and regions. To date there is mixed empirical evidence to indicate the performance enhancing effects of specific science park features on research &amp; development, economic output or improved collaboration between users. Furthermore, limited attention is given to the demands and perceptions of science park users. This study focuses on one of the main features of science parks, namely the shared facilities and services on-site and how users perceive the benefits of these facilities. An online survey is distributed to 594 resident organisations on eight science parks in the Netherlands to which 112 participated. Within the questionnaire respondents are inquired on organisational characteristics in order to distinguish tenant types through clustering on aspects, such as R&amp;D activity, organisation size, sector diversity. Then respondents indicate the benefits they perceive for specific presented shared facilities and services retrieved from science park literature based on their importance. Finally, respondents indicated meaningful associations between shared facilities and benefits. Results show that among resident organisations three distinguishable clusters emerge; ‘non-R&amp;D organisations', ‘R&amp;D start-ups', and ‘R&amp;D small-medium enterprises' with each cluster mentioning different benefits that they value . In general, knowledge sharing and on-site collaboration are most frequently mentioned as important science park benefits and are mostly associated to training programs and information access. Both ‘R&amp;D start-ups' and ‘non-R&amp;D organisations' value the opportunity to be near customers for different reasons, while ‘R&amp;D small medium entrepreneurs' perceive social events as a means to be close to the university or other higher educational institutions. The associations between various types of shared facilities and benefits that residents seek provide insights for practitioners in terms of the design and management of science parks and add to the body of knowledge of science park literature

Municipal Real Estate deployed as a capital asset

Abstract The aim of this study is to introduce the principles of Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) within the municipal organization. It is presumed that, looking at the private sector’s accomplishments in this field, these principles will allow a city council to deploy their real estate in a more strategic manner. In this study a model has been created for implementing so-called Municipal Real Estate Management (MREM) within the municipal organization on the desired level and adjusting the municipal real estate portfolio accordingly. This introduction of MREM will contribute to offering adequate accommodation to the different consumers, which heightens customer satisfaction. At the same time, it will add to the company result, balancing costs and benefits and delivering added value through a better control of risks and creating economies of scale

Employee’s preferences for services and facilities offered in serviced offices:results of an empirical study

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Employee’s preferences for services and facilities offered in serviced offices:results of an empirical study

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