Is moving desks at work a reasonable request?

[africa23]

I am a team manager, and want to ask my team members to move desks. The reason being is that I have a number of experienced staff and some less so who would benefit from mixing more. The experienced staff sit together. One of the team has objected to this and is about to place a grievance. There are a number of team members who are now not talking to me about the move of desks due to this one team member not liking it. Am I being reasonable, and I am now starting to feel bullied into not moving desks around for the team due to these few team members.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Count-A-Strong]

Why can't the callers be put on hold and then the inexperienced employees could call one of the experienced ones?

[boxtops]

Hi - I agree with the suggestions from other posts, about the process of talking to them all in a team meeting about your plans, and letting them be part of the decision, but making them see that the decision has to be made. As a manager, you know you can't always please everyone! We recently had to move offices ourselves and the team made their own ultimate decisions about where they would sit, to help the dynamics of the work, and that was good, I was glad not to have to impose decisions. I know that team dynamics are important but you can't shuffle around one person's preferences - you might have to remind the person who likes where she's sitting, that she is here to work, and the job has to be done and it's your job to maximise efficiency whilst keeping people reasonably happy. In our organisation, we have a huge amount of cuts potentially facing us in the public sector, and one of my colleagues commented that if it came to it, she'd rather have a job than worry where her desk is - which I think many of us will refer back to in the weeks to come!

[africa23]

Redhelen, the issue with the girl who is objecting is that previously, she used to work in a team that was an admin team, and now has been moved into my team, and does not want to work into a contact centre. She will now have to sit at a pod desk, which represents all she dislikes about contact centres.

[africa23]

What concerns me the most, is that this girl is influential and another 2 team members are not talking to me, and actively ignoring me.They will not look me in the eye.

[boxtops]

I think you need to have a one-to-one chat with her, bite the bullet! - ask her how's she's getting on and explain your position. It's never easy if someone was moved against her will (and it happens, I've had one!) - what was the reason for her being moved, was she disruptive there too? - have you inherited someone else's problem?

[africa23]

the whole team including myself will all move seats, it is not as though I am only moving one person.

[poodicat]

Its called skill mix africa

[boxtops]

I think the idea about making a suggested seating plan and having a team meeting about it - with the reasons being made clear - is a good one. Good luck!

[mike11111]

It could be that perhaps people feel you are acting unilaterally. I would have thought that seating policy should be decided on a centre basis and not team basis. Discuss it at your next management meeting. If you can get this decided as a centre policy, then you're off the hook.

[Count-A-Strong]

Redhelen- how is talking to someone in the phone different to sitting next to them and talking?

[1955]

I was moved at work and it triggered off a depression which lasted 7 months. Everyone else in my team sat together and I was moved to the next block of desks. I felt excluded as I had been there a lot longer than some of the others who seemed to be accepted into the group as they were sociable and chatty and I was a lot quieter. I kept complaining but no one seemed to be listening. It always seemed to be me that got moved all the time. I am now sitting back with my team and feeling a lot happier and my confidence has returned. I have an autistic son and feel I have some autistic traits myself and people with autism HATE change. Just an observation.

[Eve]

Having worked in a call centre pod I can feel her pain :)

However, having said that I certainly didn't have anytime to talk, that is what breaks were for which I assume they get.

If she is unhappy being in your team then perhaps this needs to be addressed as well.

I'd also be tempted to have a chat with the other dissenters about where their loyalties lie, especially in the current climate!

[mike11111]

These things happen. I remember when I first started in a call centre 2 women ( I don't wish to be sexist here, but it seems mainly to be women who have this problem, based on pure observation and not prejudice) used to start at 7.00 a.m (opening time) and both sat together in the same seats. When one of them had her start time changed to 9.00 a.m. she gave her locker key to her colleague so that she could take out her headset and paperwork and spread them aroung the neighbouring desk so that no-one would sit there until such time as she started. I could never understand why as in the call centre I worked in a 10 second gap between calls was a luxury. I eventually became a TM before being made redundant when the client reallocated the contract,but by that time I had learned all the tricks of the trade and was a few steps ahead.

Call Centre work, although a growing business, does tend to resemble a chain gang at times. One young lad I remember volunteered with alacrity to spend 4 hours clearing a very unpleasant health hazard resulting from an overflow in the toilets, rather than spend 4 hours on the phone (he would probably have earned 3 times that if on council wages).

With the removal of many call centres to the sub-continent such problems have probably severely diminished, although the problems for UK customers have no doubt increased in inverse proportion.

[cassa333]

Have you asked them to actualy move the desks themselves or just where they sit?

If it is about moving the desks then get someone else in to do it and if she doesn't want to move place then leave her their and move everyone else around her.

As long as you have the backing of your manager and those higher up, you have told everyone what is happening and why then get on and do it.

[LoftyLottie]

Call centre work is dreadful enough without having to move away from colleagues that you have formed a good working relationship with. Think very carefully, because, from experience, I can say that it causes all sorts of ill feeling and work can suffer as a result.

It's not rewarding work in itself and social interaction helps keep staff happy and improves their performance.

Moving then can feel very much like children in school.

[cherrychapstick]

i don't think you are being unreasonable, if it is going to help members of the team grow better ,remind the upstart that there is no i in team and when they do place their grievance you can explain to whom this was given that this is the reason you are doing it they should be on your side

good luck

[joko]

does the fact that they sit in certain areas prevent them from mixing with an involving other people in the office?

to be honest, unless you are moving poeple very far away, i dont see shift everyone around 10ft or so will channge their working behaviour...in fact it may make it worse...firstly you have got their back ups...petty as it is, you will have to deal with thier unhappiness...and also if they are pals they will just spend more time walking to the other persons desk to continue chatting...it doesnt necessarily mean they will talk to the other at all...

perhaps offer people th eoption?