FM Servicebarometer: monitoring customer perception of service performance

Facility managers’ responses to user post-occupancy feedback: a conceptual framework

Purpose

This study aims to explore the various approaches used in the general customer service industry to develop a conceptual framework for evaluating the responses of facility managers to user post-occupancy feedback.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses conceptual analysis based on a comprehensive review of relevant literature.

Findings

The results of the study established 24 propositions which are categorised under organisational response dimensions specific to facilities management (FM): timeliness, facilitation, redress, apology, credibility of explanation, attentiveness, effort and their relationships with overall satisfaction and post-feedback behaviour, such as word of mouth and acceptance to continue using the facilities.

Research limitations/implications

The established propositions are derived from existing theories using a deductive approach. The framework can be further enhanced to suit various applications in FM services.

Practical implications

This conceptual framework is a generic model, appropriate to many FM scenarios. The framework can be used to develop standard policies and procedures to foster and encourage collaborative relationships between users and facility managers. It reinforces transparency and trust between facility managers and users during the operation and management of the facilities, and improves FM effectiveness, facility performance and user post-occupancy experience.

Originality/value

In the FM area, no systematic approach has been previously established to evaluate and improve the response process to the users’ feedback. The proposed framework is a pioneer contribution in this area.

Measuring CRM Effectiveness in Indian Stock Broking Services

The article tried to develop a multi-item scale for analyzing CRM effectiveness (CRME) from the customer perspective in the Indian stock broking context. The results revealed that customer satisfaction could be improved through to build customer trust and customer involvement substantially by focusing on the CRM system which further influences customer retention and ultimately, customer loyalty within stockbroking services. The findings of the article will help stockbrokers and their managers for a tactical decision making of CRM system implementation and practices for customer perspective. Despite the huge investment in CRM systems by the stockbrokers, critics have remained unconvinced about the effectiveness of CRM for meeting desired business outcomes. The reason being that broking firms often perceive CRM systems as a specific technology solution rather than integrating customer needs with the firm's strategy, people and business process which generates a parallel need to develop a scale to measures CRM effectiveness in Indian stock broking services from the customer perspective.

Living where you work

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether property managers who live on-site within a residential apartment building provide a value-added benefit to the management in the form of cost control and revenue maximization.

Design/methodology/approach

This research uses two large US data sets that cover operational and financial data of apartment owners/operators and the financial and individual housing situations of renters themselves. The regression models developed were general linear models with operating expenses, rent collection and monthly rent paid as dependent variables, with on-site resident manager status as the experimental variable.

Findings

This research finds that the value of on-site property managers does not definitively maximize rent revenue, as expected. On-site property managers also don’t show significant reductions in operating expenses, although they are not cost centers either. Individual renter households do, however, pay a significant rent premium for units in communities with on-site personnel living there.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of this research include the inability to merge the two data sets and the inability to measure the intangible attributes of the on-site residential manager’s experience.

Practical implications

As roughly 30 per cent of US rental apartment buildings have some form of on-site manager, this research has some practical implications for multifamily housing investors/owners, a highly visible US building sector.

Social implications

The action of hiring an on-site residential property manager also addresses issues related to the optimization and efficient allocation of human resources for property management companies.

Originality/value

This appears to be the first research addressing property managers who live at the site where they also work.

Measuring the productivity of facilities management

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify methods appropriate for measuring the direct productivity of facilities management (FM) with respect to the providers, on both the industry level and the firm level.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a literature survey and conceptual analysis.

Findings

Prior studies are dominated by subjective assessments of how the office environment affects individual labour productivity. While the available EU data on productivity growth for the FM industry indicate a negative trend, they might be misleading. More recent research on the productivity of business services providers could be applied to the measurement of the productivity of FM firms. Co-production and effects of client satisfaction are important issues for measurement.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is concentrated on the direct productivity of FM providers. There is a need to develop objective measures of provider productivity, and there is a particular challenge in measuring how FM clients contribute to the productivity of FM providers.

Practical implications

Providers of FM services should be able to assess the efficiency of their resource use more clearly and to balance user satisfaction against resource use more efficiently.

Social implications

The effects of co-production with clients need to be recognised, considering productivity effects on both providers and clients jointly. Sustainability is an argument for an increased focus on resource use in FM.

Originality/value

This is the first overview of issues raised when measuring the direct productivity of FM itself rather than indirect FM effects on office worker labour productivity.

Indonesian public healthcare service institution’s patient satisfaction barometer (IPHSI-PSB)

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a new public healthcare patient satisfaction index (PSI) in Indonesia. More clearly, the index measures overall patient satisfaction and its determinants.

Design/methodology/approach

– Literature review was performed to identify the determinants of patient satisfaction. Data collection was carried out by using survey with questionnaire. The survey involves 161 patients of one public healthcare service institution in Tangerang, Indonesia. The authors conducted some statistical analyses, namely exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach α analysis, and multiple regression analysis.

Findings

– A new public healthcare PSI was developed and tested. The index consists of overall patient satisfaction and its determinants. The determinants include the quality of healthcare delivery, the quality of healthcare personnel, the adequacy of healthcare resources, the quality of administration process, perceived value, perceived sacrifice, and image. Furthermore, the new index was called as IPHSI-PSB.

Research limitations/implications

– This research was carried out only in Tangerang, Indonesia and only involved one public healthcare service. Hence, the index needs to be tested in different cities in Indonesia. Furthermore, it is also needed to involve more public healthcare service institutions in future researches.

Practical implications

– Public healthcare service managers can use IPHSI-PSB to monitor, measure, and improve the patient satisfaction of the public healthcare service institution they manage.

Originality/value

– This paper has developed and tested a new public healthcare patient satisfaction index.

A service-oriented perspective of facility management

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to provide a service-oriented understanding of the field of facility management (FM) and describe the role that services management plays in successful FM. Even though the definitions for FM by European Committee for Standardisation include the term “service” several times, there remains a need for an established management understanding that reflects the service character of FM, while also accounting for its multidimensional management challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

– This goal is achieved by applying the main characteristics of services management to FM, describing the service-specific perspectives of FM, analyzing the specific quality attributes of FM as a service management discipline and introducing important services management implications for FM.

Findings

– The article describes in detail how FM can benefit from taking a services management perspective and gives useful implications for managers in the following key fields of action: process management, tangibility management, personnel management and relationship management.

Originality/value

– Services management knowledge and expertise have the potential to position FM as an even more professional business discipline.