New Year, Get Your HR Desk Organized

The new year offers a great opportunity for human resources professionals to ensure they're ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. One of the best things you can do for yourself is organize your desk. Reducing the clutter helps clear away fetters left over from the old year and can make you feel like a new person. A more efficient filing system may emerge as you organize your desk, allowing you to accomplish tasks quickly and effectively.

January starts the new year and hosts National Clean Off Your Desk Day, giving you a great opportunity to get started. The first step towards organizing your desk is to clear away the clutter. Eliminating documents that are no longer necessary or useful can free up space for this year's new paperwork. Make sure to shred all documents that have potentially sensitive information on them as you organize your desk. Human resources professionals work with sensitive information such as social security numbers, addresses, and other private information on a regular basis. Old applications and background check information need to be handled very carefully. Old calendars, take-out menus, and other clutter can be disposed of normally.

Once you've cleared away all of the old and unnecessary documents, open your file drawers and begin organizing the things you've saved. Filing them ensures you can find them when you need them. You may use drawers to organize your desk space by filing away specific types of documents or office supplies in each one or labeling drawers and folders to make it easier to retrieve human resources information in the future. The work you put in to the desk-organization phase will save you time and headaches in the future. This is also a good time to petition your employers for ergonomic upgrades to your HR team's work area and an additional waste bin to keep clutter at bay during the new year.

Now that your desk is clean and organized, maintenance begins. Keeping your desk well-organized throughout the year lets you enjoy the benefits of your new tracking system without the need for another deep cleaning. Desk organization is a year-round job, but it is one made much easier by your new filing systems. As you organize your desk, pay attention to things you need to do to keep it clean and neat. Consider a checklist for weekly or daily tidy sessions to maintain efficiency.

The start of a new year is a great time for new beginnings, and a clean desk impresses both current employees and potential new hires when you conduct interviews and similar human resources tasks. Taking time to organize your desk at the start of the year can help reduce some of the stress that comes from not being able to find what you need quickly and efficiently.

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