What Kind of Workspace Works Best

What Kind of Workspace Works Best Hot-desking, where employees dont have a fixed desk in an office, is a key part of organisational preferences for cheaper, more flexible workplaces. As more employees work from home, organisations find they can downsize their offices to accommodate only those employees who are on site every day. According to Franklin Becker, a social psychologist at Cornell University, the idea came from the navy. On a ship there are far fewer bunks than there are sailors. When a seaman ended his shift he would get into a bed that has just been vacated, and would still be warm. In the US the term is not thought very appealing and the practice is increasingly referred to as hotelling. Open-plan is cheaper Open plan offices are popular with managers who want to cut costs, but also because we have convinced ourselves that is essential to be able to see each other. Where there are walls, they are all made of glass, so there is nowhere to hide. If you want a private conversation at work, your best bet is to take it to a public place the stairwell or kitchen than in the goldfish bowl in the office. There’s a startling gap between our dreams of the “perfect office” and the reality, with dream offices variously envisaged as everything from a café table in an Italian square, to a garden room with a view of a waterfall. Alexi Marmot is Professor of Facility and Environment Management and Head of the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies and has a lot to say about open plan offices. She points out that, whilst organisations tend to cite better communication, collaboration and supervision, open plan offices offer great economic gains are generally cheaper to construct requiring fewer walls, less servicing, and simpler environmental controls and they enable organisations to accommodate more people more efficiently. This may be fine for routine work but can be controversial where work is confidential or privacy for conversation is needed. The most frequent criticism from those working in open plan offices is that they are noisy and disturbing but, says Alexi, noise is partly a function of how you interpret sound: “It’s possible for people to get into a zone of concentration in extremely noisy environments. Working in complete quiet can also be a problem.” Places for people There seems to be a paradox as people, both managers and staff, often say they like the “vibrant”, “buzzy” atmosphere of their office, whilst complaining that they can’t concentrate there and retreating to the coffee shop or home. The idea that lively, quirky offices are conducive to creativity is open to debate. Quiet and noisy people, introverts and extroverts are all creative, so we need to consider individual traits rather than stereotypes. Most office buildings are designed not for occupiers, but for the market, so cannot necessarily be tailored to specific users’ needs. The margins on most architectural work make it difficult to do new research or even to spend time reading the research that exists. Alexi points to the trend towards “activity-based working”, which means people move to places appropriate to the work that they’re doing. Research suggests that the ‘perfect office’ often starts with where it is and how you reach it. Daylight and a view, especially of nature, are important, along with environmental comfort and good IT support. The best workplaces, however, as voted for by users, consistently demonstrate more abstract values such as trust, respect and fairness. These are a function of organisational culture but the physical space can also express these values.

10 Candidate Questions Thatll Make You Squirm (But Earn)

10 Candidate Questions Thatll Make You Squirm (But Earn) Theres nothing worse than working closely with a candidate and genuinely believing that youve found them the PERFECT role, only to confidently deliver them the offer and have a curveball hit you out of nowhere!  They tell you that theyve decided to stay at their current company, or that something else has popped up down the road, meaning  they can be home by 6pm to see their children for an extra hour (children, they didnt mention any children to you)? These nail-biting questions will ensure that you leave no stone unturned and will help to eliminate those nasty last minute surprises! 1. Why do you want to leave? Its important that at this stage you  assure the candidate its a  completely confidential conversation. What you dont want to do is put them forward for a role which could result in the candidate encountering the same frustrations and dropping out prematurely (it doesnt look good for  you or the candidate). Asking them this question outright will also give you a good talking point, allowing you to delve deeper into what theyd like to see from a new position. This also opens up a great opportunity to sell your role to them! 2. Take this role to one side, what would your perfect role look like? The best way of asking  this is to explain that you have a number of roles open constantly, and that you want to work out whether there is anything else worth putting them forward for. Okay sure, this can be difficult to digest as they  rattle off a list of  industries and responsibilities that theyd love to get involved in especially when that list starts to look like the polar opposite of the job description you recently sent through to them. The best tip? Be honest and push back on them. Ask,  why this role? They might surprise you when they describe to you one aspect which really interests them. If it really doesnt look like a match made in heaven, at least you save yourself the heartache in the long run from a rejected offer, and instead  form a list of target companies to proactively target on their behalf, based on what they are looking for. 3. Have you spoken to your boss about the fact that youre unhappy? Find this question difficult to ask? Dont! Sure, some candidates  are nervous about approaching their boss and tackling their frustrations head on, without the safety-net of a new job-offer lined up, but its good to have honest conversations to make sure everyone is on the same page. Explain the benefit to them of having this conversation up front. Why? As soon as  they hand in their notice, the likelihood is that this conversation will take place and the candidate will receive a counter offer. If your candidates issue with their current role is something that is easily fixed by their boss, you could end up in a sticky situation! Its best for everyone to find this out earlier on in the process! 4. Have you looked for other opportunities internally? Maybe the candidate is frustrated with the responsibilities of their current job role, but theyre fully immersed in the company, its values and culture (especially if theyve been with the company for a long time). If theyre applying internally, find out what stage they are at (many companies will prioritise internal applications over external ones) and talk to them about  the pros and cons of staying  with the same organisation. Make sure the offer you get them isnt going to just be a bargaining chip for them to get a pay-rise internally! 5. Are you in the process of applying elsewhere? Aside from the candidates application/s with you, what else do they have going on? Most active candidates in the marketplace will have more  than one iron in the fire (and thats fine, you want them to make a well informed decision!) However, there are a couple of additional questions that you can ask that will really help you gauge how serious this candidate is about their application 6. (If they are) Which role is currently  your preference and why? This is where honesty from the candidate is really important.  If your role is priority number 10, is it worth  your time and effort representing them? 7. How many other applications do you have? Ive personally been faced with that horrible feeling in the pit in your  stomach when a candidate tells you  that they have 8 or 9 other interviews within the next week. Why so many? Sometimes the most in-demand candidates can be the most difficult to work with. Getting a heads up on this is important, so you know youre probably going to have to exert extra control over the process. 8. Who else in your life will influence your decision? Partners, family members and significant others all play a huge role in peoples decisions when they  are considering making a big  change in their life. Hopefully, they will have spoken to their partner / family members about this role or at least about the fact that they would like to move. If they havent, this would be an alarm bell for me! (Ask them if theres any reason they havent, and whether they are serious about moving on form their current role). 9. Have you been turned down by another company recently? Why? I once had a candidate tell me that he got very nervous in a presentation, became flustered in the interview and referred to it as a car crash situation (he was actually attending a presentation-based interview for me the following week) and it had clearly knocked his confidence. To conquer this  I set up a meeting with him before the interview and had him present back to me first. We talked through the presentation and I threw tricky questions at him, but also assured him that it was a really good presentation!  So, when it came to the day, it seemed like a breeze in comparison to his last interview. If I hadnt asked, I wouldnt have known 10. Do you have any reservations in accepting this role if offered? **Close eyes and bite lip on the other end of the phone as you ask this question** Its such a powerful question to ask. Hopefully they will say no, but even if they say yes, these are things that you can still overcome before their mind is made up. Maybe they really like the role but it doesnt offer flexi-working (easily solved one phone call to the hiring manager to ask whether this is an option / how they could accommodate) and relaying this to the candidate. The most important thing to consider when representing candidates, is that you need to gather as much information as possible and make sure youve done everything you can to accommodate their need and reservations BEFORE delivering any offer of employment to a candidate. The last thing you want to be faced with is a candidate turning down the offer based on something that could have been avoided if tackled earlier in the process. Effective questioning and ensuring that the candidate is able to be honest with you are key components to understanding your candidates needs. From here it will be easier to manage the process between your candidate and client and  and ultimately understand whether  this is the right role for them!