To increase worker performance, employers invest in a number of tactics – from education and training and performance management, to rewards and incentives. But new data shows that simply rearranging employee seating can be one of the fastest and most economic ways of increasing the performance an organisation’s workforce.
As Chris McCologan from Recruitment Buzz explains:
"The distance between two employees’ desks affects various performance measures and how placing the right type of workers in close proximity to each other has been shown to generate up to a 15 percent increase in organisational performance."
The first study of its kind, Cornerstone’s “Planning Strategic Seating to Maximise Employee Performance” report analysed data from more than 2,000 employees over a two-year period provided by a large technology company with several locations in the U.S. and Europe. The analysis concluded that who an employee sits next to can have a significant impact on his/her performance, for both positive and negative situations.
Research uncovered three types of workers: Productive, Generalists and Quality. Productive workers are very productive but lack in quality. In contrast, Quality workers produce superior quality but lack in productivity. All the while, Generalists are average on both dimensions.
Seating Productive and Quality workers together and seating Generalists separately in their own group shows a 13 percent gain in productivity and a 17 percent gain in effectiveness. In short, symbiotic relationships are created from pairing those with opposite strengths.
At Electus Recruitment we have tested this theory in our own open plan office and we've seen positive results. Taking time to analyse staff behaviour and output will save money in the long run and will create a happier, healthier more productive workplace for colleagues and management alike.
Source: Recruitment Buzz