Designing Your Office with Productivity in Mind

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When you run a business, you may be more concerned about finding an office space you can afford and filling it with furniture and that is practical, than with the design of the place, but that may be a mistake. Why? Because there is growing evidence to suggest that the design of the office can help or hinder productivity.

Obviously, every business wants to be as productive as possible because it is this that will help the business thrive, and that is why you may need to take a closer look at your office design… 

Allow for Movement

If you want your employees to be more productive at work, don’t limit their ability to move around the space too much. Being able to walk around for a few minutes helps tired, stressed employees to refresh and come back to their work ready to tackle anything.

You may even want to think about installing stand-to-sit desks so that they can switch positions while working, feel more comfortable and thus get more done.

Install Security Cameras

Security cameras, whether they be analog cameras or digital devices, are not only important for keeping your place of business safe and secure, but they can also be used to boost productivity when used inside the office. They show employees that you are keeping an eye on them and that means they are more likely to get on and do their stuff.

Place a Few Plants

Plants aren’t just decorative – they can have a very real effect on our mind and our wellbeing. Numerous studies have shown that being surrounded by nature, including plants, helps to keep stress at bay and boost productivity by at least 15 percent. Being surrounded by plants in the office can also help to boost employee satisfaction levels and engagement. The more plants you have around the better.

Build a Gadget Cubby

It’s perhaps not surprising that a study conducted by OfficeTeam found that the average office employee spends as much as five hours every week using their mobile phone for non-work-related tasks. A good way to get around this is by building a gadget cubby where all non-work devices must live during non-working hours, excluding the lunch hour, of course.

Keep It Clutter-Free

If your office space is packed to the brim with shelving units, papers, and other general office debris, it might be time to channel Marie Kondo and get rid of anything that isn’t necessary or beautiful. Why? Because cluttered space can be too stimulating in all of the wrong ways. It can distract employees from the task at hand and see their productivity drop.The same is true of an unclean office space, so take some pride and make it as clean and clear as you possibly can.

Make it Personal

Allowing your employees to personalize their space can help them to feel happier and more connected, which can, in turn, improve their productivity. A few personal pictures of ornaments won’t hurt, so as long as they’re sensible, give your employees free rein.

The right space can totally transform the quality of your business!

Ready to Move In Your New Office? Make Sure You Don’t Regret Your Decision

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If you have been running your business from home for a while, and now you are ready to found your own company and become one of the big players, you will need an office space to accommodate your employees, your client meetings, and your infrastructure. There are plenty of things you will have to consider before you can decide that you are making the right move. Below you will find some of them listed.

Calculate the Running Costs

While you might have a good idea of the cost of the office building or the monthly lease, you will also have to take into consideration the other regular expenses. You might have to pay business tax on the building, heating and air conditioning bills, as well as maintenance and internet, receptionist, and cleaning services. You must be comfortable with the monthly cost, or you will find yourself regretting your decision.

Assess Facilities

It is also important that you check which facilities are present at the office building. If you are sharing a building with other businesses, you have to make sure that you have a strong enough internet and dedicated phone lines. Having a small kitchenette for your staff if your office is far from the city center can also be a benefit. Make sure that you get designated parking for your visitors and your staff, too.

Transport Links

In case you are planning on filling your office with employees, you need to make sure that they can get to it fast in the peak traffic. Consider the needs of your employees who might not have a car, and make sure that there is a train station or bus stop nearby. Before moving office, you should test the roads before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. to make sure there are no regular traffic jams in the area. For your business partners’ and customers’ comfort, you should also need to position your office close to main road links and junctions.

Security

It is crucial that you have adequate security on site. You need to control who can enter your office, and monitor the site remotely at night when it is empty. You can get quotes on security camera installation if your business will be the only one on site, or talk to the owner of the building about different options. After all, you want to keep your business and employees safe.

Flexibility

In some cases, committing to a huge lease can be scary for businesses. It is important that you focus on flexibility, so you can expand your business when you need to. In case you are not sure about committing to the location or the building, you can take out a flexible office space or a rolling contract, so you can evaluate the premises and make sure it fits your business needs.

Moving into your first office can be a challenging decision. Think all aspects of the building and location through carefully before you make the final choice.

Never Let Your Business’s Security Fall By The Wayside

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As a business owner, there are a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. You need to be sure that you’re taking care of your employees, that your products are as high quality as possible, that you’re marketing your business effectively, as well as dozens of other things. However, there’s one thing that is incredibly important, and yet it still tends to get ignored by far too many businesses. That thing is security. Of course, in a perfect world, security wouldn’t be something that you needed to think about all that often but that’s simply not the world that we live in. With that in mind, here are some ways to make sure that your business is just a little bit more secure.

Physical security

The office is usually the central hub of any business, and because of that, it’s crucial that you take as many security precautions as possible. Fortunately, advances in technology have made it so that it’s far easier to make your office impenetrable than ever before. From high quality, affordable alarms to motion activated security cameras the methods by which you can deter intruders from your premises are more advanced than ever before. Of course, sometimes there really is nothing better than a big heavy lock on the front door!

Digital security

Despite how important the office is to any business, there’s no denying that most business is conducted online these days. This means that many of the attacks that are made against businesses are made online. You need to be sure that the firewall and anti-malware systems on your business’s computers are all as up to date as possible. Cybercriminals work hard every day to break through those kinds of defenses so if they’re not fully up to date, that leaves an open door for them to climb through and do some real damage to your business.

A security culture

Of course, it won’t matter how many systems, both physical and digital, if they’re not being put into practice. You need to be sure that you’re creating a culture of security in your business and that all of your employees are as aware of the way that they should be behaving as possible. This means everything from setting secure passwords to locking their computers when they’re left unattended to not discussing any sensitive information outside of work. Of course, creating this kind of culture in the workplace isn’t easy, but the best way to do it is to focus on leading by example. Security is everyone’s responsibility, even yours.

One of the most common reasons why this is something that people forget about a lot is that it’s not something that you’ll need all that often unless you’re incredibly unfortunate. Because of that, it’s easy to fall into a habit of feeling as though your security measures aren’t really necessary. Of course, the moment that you fall into that way of thinking is the moment that your business becomes truly vulnerable.