There is need for sustainable building practice in Nigeria as buildings generally show signs of poor design for ventilation, natural lighting, energy management, water management, waste management and other building services. These buildings under perform in relation to the purpose for which they have been built. Building users often complain that the buildings do not provide the required services such as functioning air-conditioning systems, effective water and energy management systems and waste management. Facilities management (FM) professionals in Nigeria have recognised the role that they can play in the practice of sustainable building as a way to proffering a solution to the above mentioned problems. Six objectives were set for the study: to identify the constituents of sustainable building with reference to literature and internationally recognised standards; to evaluate the role of FM in relation to the sustainable building at the design, the construction and operations stages of the building life-cycle; to develop a conceptual framework that shows the facilities manager’s role in sustainable buildings; to evaluate the perception of facilities managers in relation to their competence in achieving sustainable buildings; to investigate the drivers and barriers to the facilities manager’s role in achieving sustainable buildings; and finally to develop and validate a framework for sustainable building practice for FM in Nigeria. The methodology adopted for this research included a combination of extensive literature review, content analysis of relevant literature and documents, 20 interviews and a questionnaire survey of 139 members of IFMA Nigeria in order to identify sustainable building constituents and the facilities manager’s role in sustainable buildings. The findings of the research helped in developing a framework for the achievement of sustainable buildings through the facilities manager’s role at the design, construction and operations stages of the building’s life-cycle.

Development of a facilities management framework for sustainable building practices in Nigeria

Purpose – Real estate professionals are vital resources to the property firms and the industry atlarge. Employees’ skills, knowledge and competence contribute in great measure to organisation’s business performance. The purpose of this study is to examine the adequacy ofcore knowledge and soft skills possessed by professional employees within the Nigerian real estate practicing firms. It also assesses the performance of the employees and establishes the correlation among the soft skills possessed by employees. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were elicited through the administration of questionnaires on Principal Partners/Branch Managers (the employers) of the practicing Estate Surveying and Valuation firms in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one sample t-test, and correlation analysis. Findings – The result indicates that employees of estate firms in Nigeria demonstrate adequate knowledge in ten, out of twenty one core areas of real estate practice while real estate agency has the highest mean; and inadequate knowledge in eleven others with least mean score in environmental impact assessment. The study also revealed that the employees possess good listening and communication skills but deficient in courteousness and writing skill, among others. It was also found that real estate employees were performing the best in inspection functions but below average in report writing and handling of transaction. The study also established a significant relationship among all the soft skills except communication skill and courteousness. Research limitations/implications – Further study that looks at the performance of real estate graduates working in other sectors/organizations other than estate companies is required to establish their competence level in global employment market. Further study is also needed to cover the views of the employees in Nigerian market as this study focuses on the views of the employers. Originality/value – This study provides an important feedback for the policy makers in the design/review of curriculum for real estate education towards enhancing employability of the graduates. This study also serves as the research blueprint in giving attention to assessment of soft skills among real estate employees in Nigerian real estate industry. Keywords Knowledge, Soft skills, Employee, Real estate firms, Nigeria

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Adequacy of core knowledge and soft skills in the performance of professional employees of real estate firms in Nigeria

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to determine how the presence of cleaning staff affects perceptions and satisfaction of train passengers. Day-time cleaning is becoming increasingly popular in (public) service environments. It is however unknown how the presence of cleaning staff in the service environment affects perceptions and satisfaction of end-users.




Design/methodology/approach




Two experimental field studies were performed. Data for the first study were collected on the trajectory between the train station of Assen and the station of Groningen (N = 506) in the northern part of the Netherlands. Data for the second study were collected on the trajectory between train station “Amsterdam Amstel” and train station “Utrecht Centraal” (N = 1,113) in the central part of the Netherlands. In the experimental condition, two cleaners collected waste and performed minor cleaning activities (i.e. empty trash bins, cleaning doors and tables) during the journey. After the first study, cleaners received hospitality training and corporate uniforms.




Findings




The presence of cleaning staff positively influenced train passengers’ perceptions and satisfaction. Effects were stronger in the second study, after the second consecutive intervention (i.e. hospitality training, corporate uniforms). In both studies, the presence of cleaners positively influenced passengers’ perceptions of staff, cleanliness and comfort. The perception of atmosphere was only significant after the intervention.




Practical implications




The findings of this study allow in-house and corporate facility managers to better understand the possible effects of the presence of their cleaning staff on end-user perceptions and satisfaction.




Originality/value




The study’s value lies in its human centred approach by demonstrating the importance of day-time cleaning. This area of research has been largely neglected in the field of facilities and (public) services management research.

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Into the light: effects of the presence of cleaning staff on customer experience

Inadequate on-campus student accommodation in Sub-Saharan higher educational institutions triggered the need for private sector intervention in the off-campus student private housing (SPH) delivery...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10911359.2020.1825247

Off-campus student housing satisfaction indicators and the drivers: From student perspectives to policy re-awakening in governance

Sourcing decisions are important considerations in organizations’ strategic and policy resolutions. Given sometimes conflicting factors such as cost and financial implications, individual perceptions and motivation, health and safety of facility users, and organizational objectives, finding a balance and basis for making such decisions, presently and in future, is crucial. This paper aims to investigate the quality of services delivered by an insourced cleaning service team in a higher learning institution. The objective of the study is to establish the condition of the facilities (restrooms) in the institution, and thus the quality of services delivered by the insourced team.,The study adopted a descriptive approach including observation and scoring to obtain and analyse information about the state of five restrooms on two campuses of the institution.,Findings revealed that the condition of the restrooms inspected over a period of five weeks was good, except for a week where there was low water supply on the sampled campuses. Further findings revealed that restrooms provided in the library were paid more attention to.,The findings from the study are envisaged to assist facilities management stakeholders and organizations’ management in making decisions on sourcing services and supporting core business functions.,Better decision-making can be made to improve the quality of services provided by sourcing teams, which will contribute to supporting core strategies and increasing value-add and image of organizations.

The state of restroom facilities as a measure of cleaning service quality in an educational institution

Purpose – This paper aims to empirically investigate the factors and the level of influence on facilities management practice and analyze the relationship among the factors. It also examines the level of effectiveness of outsourcing decision. Recent research effort on outsourcing identified some factors that influence outsourcing decision-making. Design/methodology/approach – Copies of instrument titled “Questionnaire on Outsourcing Decision” designed through a review of outsourcing literature, pilot-tested on the professionals, with valid reliability test results, were used to collect data. Collected data were analyzed using percentage, t-test, Pearson correlation and chi-square. Findings – Majority of the respondents reported that outsourcing is an effective decision. Except for functional characteristics, all other factors (strategic, management, technical, economical and quality) are significantly different from the group mean values. While there is a positive and significant relationship among the in...

Investigating experts’ opinion on outsourcing decision in facilities management practice in public Universities in Nigeria

Purpose




The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on real estate agency transactions with a view to determine its influence on the performance of estate agents.




Design/methodology/approach




A research approach in which questionnaire was administered to elicit relevant information from 220 practicing Estate Surveyors and Valuers surveyed in the course of the study. Data collected were analysed using mean ranking, relative influence index and analysis of variance.




Findings




The results showed that the use of ICT impacted positively on real estate agency transactions by promoting company’s brand thereby increasing the level of patronage. Consequently, the increased level of patronage signifies an increase in the level of income of the agents.




Research limitations/implications




The study was limited to social media applications otherwise referred to as ICT, which are used in real estate agency transactions. Further study on other ICT media and their effects on more areas of real estate practice in the developing economy may be required.




Originality/value




This paper is one of the few works on the impact of ICT on real estate agency transactions with particular reference to the social media networking especially in an emerging economy. Most of the previous studies conducted on ICT and real estate focussed only on internet use with respect to real estate agents and practices.

The impact of information and communication technology on real estate agency in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria

Purpose: Coworking space had been a trajectory in the commercial space operation and management globally. Commercial coworking/tenancy space is confronted with an unexpected shift. This paper aims to examine the peculiarity and investment characteristics of flexible office space and the post-COVID implications on coworking office space practice and investment. This is with a view toward providing investors with an understanding of the dynamics underpinning flexible office space investment in the Nigerian emerging property market. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a qualitative research approach. Open-ended interview questions were used to solicit information from nine coworking space operators in the urban property market of Ibadan, Nigeria. The structured interview data were analyzed using Atlas.ti – a computer-aided qualitative data analysis software. Findings: The findings show that the factors influencing demand for flexible office space in the study area include flexibility, affordability, cost-effectiveness, entrepreneurship motivations and opportunity for risk sharing. The results also revealed that coworkers are predominantly mobile individuals who require a workstation away from their homes or a traditional office setup. Management challenges include deficient infrastructure, low level of awareness, stealing and high cost of operations. The impact of COVID-19 includes a drop in patronage, rent refunds, changes in working pattern and job loss, restriction to online and remote operation, the extra cost of putting prevention measures in place, changes in tenancy contract and drops in return on investment. Practical implications: This study has implications for investors in commercial space occupation and leases in comparable developing economies. Originality/value: The novelty of this paper lies in its relevance with the emergent behavioral changes, orchestrated from the novel COVID-19, which compels reevaluation of workplace practices and investment for economic improvement, especially as it relates to commercial real estate investment. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Theophilus Olugbenga Babatunde

Papers

Investigating experts’ opinion on outsourcing decision in facilities management practice in public Universities in Nigeria

The impact of information and communication technology on real estate agency in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria

Exploring investment paradigm in urban office space management: perspectives from coworking space investors in Nigeria