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Secure Physical Location
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Secure Physical Location
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I’m seeking examples regarding the following questions:
Is your HR office located in a stand-alone space? That is, do you share a building with other offices, i.e., accounting, business offic
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Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Secure Physical Location
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/20/2009 10:09 AM EDT
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Posts: 29
First: 6/9/2009 Last: 4/26/2011 |
I’m seeking examples regarding the following questions:
Is your HR office located in a stand-alone space? That is, do you share a building with other offices, i.e., accounting, business office, purchasing, etc., or are you the only office at your location? If you share a building space, do you separate HR from employee traffic? With regard to entry, do employees have free access? For example, can employees enter as they please or is there an entry point where you lock the door and an HR employee releases the lock to allow entry? Do employees in HR work out of cubicles or do they have an office with a door? Do you share a confidential conference room with other offices? Or, do you have a confidential conference room just for HR use? Do you have a secure copier/fax/scanner? (No other employees use the equipment) Your answers are much appreciated! |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/20/2009 1:05 PM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I have an "inside office" with no outside windows (only upper transom windows with glass) and a door that is locked if I am not in the office. If I am there, the door is usually open, but I try to keep most confidential paperwork hidden. I also have filing cabinets that lock.
I suppose someone could be sneaky and go in during the day but since my office is close to the kitchen and bathrooms (high traffic), I suspect they would get caught by someone else. But I work for a small company that doesn't have other HR/payroll employees. |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/21/2009 4:54 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I suspect he is trying to convince his company that the HR employee(s) need(s) to have a secure office/equipment vs being out in the open and is looking to see what is commonly happening or best practices.
I forgot to answer on the equipment/fax question -- no I don't have a separate fax line, but again our company is so small that I rarely get anything via fax that is confidential that I don't get notified it is coming first. |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/21/2009 5:03 AM EDT
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Posts: 29
First: 6/9/2009 Last: 4/26/2011 |
"I suspect he is trying to convince his company that the HR employee(s) need(s) to have a secure office/equipment vs being out in the open and is looking to see what is commonly happening or best practices."
BINGO! |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/21/2009 5:49 AM EDT
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
I think the concept of "HR needs a lot of privacy" is abused.
I have lead many HR teams with the majority of the workers in a common area of individual and sometimes group work stations. Much of what HR does is not so secret or sensitive that it requires absolute privacy. In the instances where I have worked my team in work stations, or cubicles if you prefer, I have used a common conference room, that could be reserved by anyone, if I needed it. Also, myself and two Directors had offices with the understanding that if an employee issue arose and privacy was needed, and no other meeting space was available, we would allow our offices to be used. All offices had large floor to ceiling glass windows without blinds or curtains. I have had HR people who covered geographically dispersed areas who worked from their automobiles, or "borrowed" space in one of our field offices as they traveled. I tend to look at the issue with a rather jaundiced eye as HR people start getting wrapped around an issue of private offices and dedicated conference rooms. It reinforces the us vs them mentality that we need to eradicate. I would focus less on the working environment and more on the value added. Don Herrmann |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/21/2009 7:54 AM EDT
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Posts: 108
First: 2/1/2007 Last: 9/9/2010 |
We have administrative offices where the "non-public" employees sit. My office is next to Accounting and to get to our area one must bypass the receptionist. Our area is only accessible by employees because of security personnel and codes.
My office is open during the day (I am a one-person department) but locked when I am not there. I have locked file cabinets in my office that remain locked all day unless I am accessing them. I have my own secure fax and printer. I do not have a private conference room, the conference room I use is shared by Accounting, Marketing, IT, HR and the C-Suite. |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/24/2009 3:22 AM EDT
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Posts: 186
First: 4/23/2001 Last: 4/14/2010 |
While we have private offices, they are open during the day and doors only closed for privacy as needed. For larger department meetings we use the common conference room, which can be closed for privacy. I think the larger issue is securing information, whether paper or electronic. Paper files are secured in locked file cabinets and a locked file room, which also contains the HR fax machine. HR folks keep confidential info out of public view. There are workarounds for many of these items as space and money is always short. |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/24/2009 6:06 AM EDT
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Posts: 29
First: 6/9/2009 Last: 4/26/2011 |
I agree, everybody cant have a private office and shouldnt. I cant support the idea of no blinds or curtains. There are moments, and sometimes, HR is the only place, when an employee needs an area where they can cry, or an employee walks into your office and the scene is not what you want everybody to see. We shouldnt subject other employees to a persons personal moment.
We have four HR staffers. I think a space subject to free flowing employee traffic inhibits HRs ability to conduct spontaneous conversations, discussions that cant always be conducted behind closed doors. While the privacy could be abused, we receive faxes that contain social security numbers, medical information, and other personal information that we cant stand by the fax machine to make sure its not seen or intercepted by others outside of HR. What is the added value of having HR in a space subject to the free flow of employee traffic? What values outweigh the safety and security of information and employees? Privacy is one thing, but Im more interested in security of info and employee safety. |
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Secure Physical Location
posted at 8/24/2009 6:28 AM EDT
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Posts: 155
First: 8/24/2009 Last: 2/9/2010 |
Let me turn that around on you. What is the added value of HR having private offices without blinds or curtains when the bulk of the employees do not have them. How will this impact your ability to partner with the greater percentage of employees who are not acting in the manner you describe (something I see as a rare occurrence anyway and I've been doing this for 30 years). Will you hear or be subject to comments such as "HR is a bunch of prima donas" or "Why does HR get private offices when we don't, our work requires privacy just like theirs" Those things will not help your internal credibility.
You are presenting an emotional argument and not a business argument. Going forward with the understanding that a true business need may exist for what you seek I would encourage you to present it in terms of business. That would be assessing a real value of the request, it's frequency, availability or lack there of for other areas of privacy, etc. Can you communicate that in terms of dollars and cents? If not you probably are not going to realize your goal. Don Herrmann |
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