Measuring the added value of workplace change

Abstract

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to compare performance measurement systems from the literature with current performance measurement approaches in practice to get a better understanding of the complex relationships between workplace change, added value and organisational performance. To be able to measure the added value of workplace change, a valid and reliable performance measurement system is needed to measure the impact of the work environment on organisational performance before and after the change. A second aim is to have a closer look at the appraisal of workplace change by the end users.Design/methodology/approach– A review of the literature traced various performance measurement systems with different performance areas and key performance indicators (KPIs). Three case studies were conducted, two in Thailand, and one in The Netherlands, to explore if and how these theoretical insights are applied in current practice. Due to the worldwide introduction of New Ways of Working, special attention is paid to employee satisfaction and perceived productivity support.Findings– Many performance criteria and KPIs from literature are used in practice. However, apart from the balanced scorecard, no performance measurement system from literature is literally applied. Regarding most issues, none of the organisations conducted a comparison of the impact of their real estate on organisational performance before and after the change. In one case only, both ex ante and ex post data were collected about the appraisal of change by the end users.Research limitations/implications– The number of cases is limited. Additional case studies in depth are needed to get a wider picture of practice. Besides, still much work has to be done to operationalise the performance criteria.Practical implications– The performance measurement systems that were found in theory and practice can be used as input to value adding management of facilities. Based on the findings, a step-by-step procedure is presented to facilitate the selection of prioritised KPIs.Originality/value– This research connects the concepts of performance measurement and adding value by workplace change with data from two different continents.