TM - December 2007 - (Page 13)

[human performance] by Harold D. Stolovitch, Ph.D. I I Physical Environment Impacts Workplace Performance findings to decision makers who can eliminate these. • Difficulties getting to the work site on time. Examine ways to stagger work shifts to off-peak working hours. Explore possibilities for telecommuting. Build a business case for providing transportation. • Health and wellness issues. Have specialists verify health hazards. Institute measures to eliminate them. Obtain nutritionist expertise to adjust food offerings. Help institute a weight, health and fitness incentive program. n the 19th century, machines affected to identify ways to elimreigned. Most industrial workinate or overcome them. Contact places were dismal and dangerous. specialists who can make it hapMuch like Charles Dickens’ pen. Also, analyze work requiredescription of Coketown from the ments with affected parties. novel Hard Times, cities were Encourage space redesign to possessed of “interminable serfacilitate more comfortable and pents of smoke [that] trailed themefficient work environments. selves forever and ever, and never • Noise and visual distractions. got uncoiled.” People were often Recommend sound and visual treated as cogs in steam-driven barriers. Investigate introducing wheels into which individuals “white noise” to cover distracoccasionally fell. Workers, and even their managers, were forced to labor under Concerning knowledge and unspeakable conditions 12 to 14 office workers, studies also hours daily. The have demonstrated strong physical environlinks between the physical ment reeked with pollution. Unsanenvironment and productivity. itary conditions led to frequent typhoid and cholera outbreaks. Illness, injury and tions. Recommend adding sound death were a familiar consequence. absorption materials to ceilings The modern world requires brainpower productivity. New specialties such as ergonomics, industrial architecture and environmental design have arisen not only to make working conditions pleasant and safe, but also to generate greater human productivity. What Does This Have to Do With Me? About the author Harold D. Stolovitch, Ph.D., is a principal of HSA Learning & Performance Solutions LLC and is emeritus professor of instructional and performance technology at the Université de Montréal. He can be reached at editor@TalentMgt.com. and walls. Move work surfaces and furniture away from line-ofsight distractions. • Inadequate lighting. Recommend softer illumination. Suggest mixing indirect lighting to reduce glare with directly targeted lighting to illuminate points of focus. Add antiglare filters to older computer screens. • Inadequate access to required resources or materials. Help relocate resources and tools closer to workstations. Help eliminate administrative barriers to obtaining required resources and materials. • Poorly adapted tools and equipment. With workers, analyze defects and build a business case to improve or replace improper items. • Environmental threats to safety. Recruit specialists and actual performers to a team that identifies points of risk. Escalate the As a performance professional, you possess the power to intervene at the physical environmental level. In your daily observations, you can spot ways to improve work conditions, helping both workers and organizations achieve better results. What Can I Do? A lot of research has shown the negative effects of the physical setting on workers. Supermarket cashiers have benefited enormously as a result of changes to their work spaces, as have bus drivers, because of ergonomically designed seats and controls. Concerning knowledge and office workers, studies also have demonstrated strong links between the physical environment and productivity. We are not ergonomists, or industrial designers. As performance professionals and talent managers, however, we are concerned with getting the best from people in ways everyone values. Let’s not neglect helping to ensure the best physical workplace possible. Examine the surroundings of the workers and clients you serve. Watch for: • Uncomfortable work spaces or physical surroundings. Analyze these to determine points of discomfort. Consult with those 12 December 2007 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - December 2007

Talent Management - December 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Capabilities The Engaged Difference: What People Want Analytics in Talent Management: The Sports View The Use of Merchandise for Employee Recognition Taking Aim at Performance Appraisals Talent Management Drives Organizational Change Generational Diversity: Mastering the Boomer-X-Y Divide Dashboard: Security-Savvy Workforce: Designing a Security Awareness Program That Works Application: Hilton Hotels Corporation:Checking Out the Merits of Paperless Efficiency Insight: Unlimited Engagement: Innovative Corporate Communication at Deloitte & Touche USA Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources Foundations

TM - December 2007

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