Employer Solutions Blog | Sage HRMS

Designing a workspace arrangement at an office is about more than just installing some desks, ordering ergonomically-friendly chairs and plugging in phone lines. Although it differs from company to company, the way in which a workspace is arranged can have a drastic effect on how well employees work.

Momma always said, ‘Never play in traffic.’ The same can be said for office workspace arrangements. Human resources management must design a workplace that allows for adequate flow of office traffic to ensure safety and productivity for all employees.

Traffic also can be distracting if flow is not appropriately controlled around an office, says Paul H. Burton of the website Self Growth. For example, workers placed in high foot-traffic areas may have trouble holding their focus.

“The natural tendency to look up whenever someone passes by is instinctive,” he explains. “It’s probably a survival mechanism long-instilled in our psyche to observe the ‘threat’ before it consumes us.”

There are two ways to arrange workspace to better deal with traffic. The first position is an arrangement that allows employees to face those who approach the space. This way, workers won’t be distracted by movement in their peripheral vision because they can fully see their surroundings.

The second theory is that employees are better off with their backs to passing traffic. It works best to position desks against the wall as far from the door as possible. Pushing desks against the walls also frees up more space in the center of an office for meeting space and other needs.

Have you ever thought about if your office is designed to allow for productivity?

When it comes to personnel management and hiring practices, unwritten rules can lead to avoidable mistakes and, in the worst cases, open up businesses for lawsuits. HR Morning warns that if hiring policies and practices aren’t explicitly written out, a company could be held liable in a court of law.

The website offers a hypothetical scenario for HR managers to use as a barometer for their companies’ practices. Envision a lawyer demanding to know why his or her client wasn’t hired. The company cites the applicant’s admission to a criminal conviction as the reason because they have a policy against such behavior. However, when the attorney asks to see a copy of the criminal records policy, there is no paper trail to be found. The applicant, whatever background he or she may be, then sues the company for race discrimination.

Lawsuits like this are expensive, no matter what the outcome. However, a list of hiring rules can save organizations the hassle and stress of handling costly legal action.
Business Management Daily says that companies should “adopt some basic rules for handling the selection process, and pay special attention to the all-important job description and interview.”

Human resources software could also help companies keep hiring practice policies organized by keeping a database of qualified applicants, tracking open requisitions, and managing current employee information. If a company’s actions are called into question, the software will have clear record of the past.