How to Make The Most Of Your Office Space
Whether you have a small office or a large industrial office, there is always room for improvement! Making the most of your office space is essential to you, your workers and more importantly your work. Believe it or not, the right office environment can actually improve your staff’s productivity by 25%.
The Purge
Review what you have in the office - and make sure to get rid of anything that doesn’t serve a purpose. Most offices tend to get lots of junk and gimmicky stationery through the post - this is the time to declutter completely! If there is a technology graveyard where machines go to die in your office then take this opportunity to either get them fixed or get them out. Ensure staff clear their own desk areas of rubbish to ensure clean lines throughout the office.
Review The Space You Have
If you’ve had a clear out and realise that your office might be too small for your purpose, why not take a look at a space calculator - it will give you a good idea of the size of office you will need for your growing business. wondering how big an office you actually need. For now we will assume that you are staying put - so, how can you best use the space you actually have?
Assess Your Furniture & Equipment
Take a look at your office furniture - is it all a mishmash of things you have collected which aren’t working in your space? IKEA have a huge selection of simple desks in a range of sizes - if your furniture is too big then this could be the best way to maximise the space you have. For as little as around £15 you can buy a perfectly good (and compact) desk. Small and agile workstations are the way to go - as we move to a more paperless world (much happier for the environment) there is no need for a large desk with multiple drawers. In fact, more and more workers are using laptops to enable them to have a flexible work environment (such as standing work stations and collaborative areas), laptops are an excellent way to reduce the clutter in an office as there are no standing PC towers to hide under desks. However, an equipment upgrade could be costly depending on the size of your workforce.
The office is an ever changing environment, so it is important to consider what outdated working practises you may want to jettison in favour of a more efficient office - for example, do you really need to print out every email you receive? Many offices opt for a totally paperless office, relying on cloud storage - if your office doesn’t use much in the way of paper and printing but you have several large laser printers in the office, consider reducing the number of these pieces of equipment. If you are in a small office, try to ensure that you do not have any unnecessary electrical items plugged in that can make the office space hotter for your employees.
Don’t Move Out, Move Up!
Finally, if you are finding that your office is still very cluttered and needs some more storage space, IKEA (again!) can save the day with their Lack shelving range starting at very affordable prices. Instead of having additional filing cabinets and cupboards filling up space on the floors, take to the walls and start stacking!
If you are trying to revamp your office space why not read through one of our other great posts in our office series, such as How to Keep Your Office Cool This Summer or How To Ensure Your Office Relocation Runs Smoothly.