Business owners have a lot of responsibilities. These include pleasing customers, managing employees, working with suppliers and vendors and conforming to the very extensive legal code for businesses on the federal, state and local level. One thing that may not get as much attention is the layout of your office space. How your office is organized can have a big impact on your business’s efficiency and overall effectiveness. With that in mind, below are a few tips on how to keep your office space organized.
Give Employees Some Sense of Privacy
In the recent past, having a completely open office environment without cubicles was a fad that became popular in part because that set-up was used by a number of prominent tech companies like Google. This fad, however, has been losing steam recently because many businesses have figured out it can actually hamper productivity. Studies have shown that cubicles are actually superior to open office environments in regards to many different criteria that matter to employees and businesses.
Organize and Protect Physical Files
Today, we like to think that all offices have become completely paperless thanks to things like Wi-Fi internet and cloud storage. While that is true to a certain degree, most businesses will still accumulate a lot of paper records. In fact, keeping those files in storage may be demanded by the law. It’s also a good idea to have copies for important information that could accidentally be wiped away due to computer data loss. Consider investing in heavy duty plastic storage containers to ensure that physical files are protected and organized.
Create a Space for Collaboration
While it is important to give employees some privacy with their independent work stations, collaboration is also the key to a productive and successful office. Make sure you do create some areas of your office that would allow several members of a team to effectively collaborate on a project together. While collaboration software can accomplish a lot, it cannot replicate face to face interaction that is often required for more effective collaboration on team projects. Make sure there is enough space and furniture allocated to make that collaboration successful.
While there are perhaps more important elements to your business, how you design the layout of your office space is also important. A well designed office can foster productivity and efficiency. A poorly designed office, on the other hand, can do just the opposite. Make sure to put some thought into how you design your office space.
