How to Optimise the Office Space for Productivity
The commercial world is all about optimising resources and maximising productivity. Especially where office spaces are concerned, efficient use not only translates to increased productivity for the business but also reduces the cost for renting or purchasing the premises. How to make your office space more productive? Here are five tips that will get you started:
1. Plan an efficient office layout.
Don’t attempt to change things up until you have a solid plan that clearly defines the budget and what kind of spaces are required for various departments to achieve their goals. Essentially, the exercise to optimise the office space is not about shrinking the area size but a more appropriate allocation of functions areas for everyone to work productively and efficiently.
Consider how the office space affects productivity at work and develop an action plan around it. Your objectives should be focused on improving the work environment, decreasing the company’s carbon footprint and even lowering utility bills. You can also engage the help of an office space planning services team to provide professional office management solutions tailored to your objectives.
2. Use technology with a purpose.
When optimising your office layout, don’t forget to consider the technology requirements that can improve workflow. It can be as simple as where to allocate WiFi routers to ensure easy internet access throughout the office or installing digital door signs at meeting rooms to indicate when the room is available or booked. Ultimately, technology should be utilised to facilitate collaboration instead of disrupting efficiency. Even if you think centralising all the printers in one location optimises office space, it is not likely to improve workflow if employees have to walk to the other extreme end of the office just to pick up their printed documents. Be mindful of how to make your office space more productive for everyone and you’ll create a much better working environment with technology.
3. Keep lighting and sounds in check.
Do you know that your office lighting can help to increase employee satisfaction and productivity? Layout your office spaces to capture as much natural light as possible because studies have shown that natural light is effective for improving mood, reducing vision and keeping people alert.
When you’re working out the office management solutions with your office space planning services team, also include noise insulation as part of the must-do items. External noises can easily disrupt employees’ concentration and affect their productivity. Especially if your office is by the main road or in a busy district, introducing soundproof solutions such as noise reduction windows or sound insulation curtains can cut out the disturbance and bring more peace to the environment.
4. Create spaces for collaboration.
Studies have found that employees who feel included in a company are more likely to improve job performance and stay loyal. Harnessing these findings, more companies are moving away from traditional office set-ups to include open spaces to promote collaborations amongst employees and teams. Unlike meetings held in serious boardrooms, these spaces allow employees to engage with one another more informally and share their ideas more freely.
How office space affects productivity goes beyond having ergonomic furniture or fancy coffee machines. Sometimes an additional open space in the office is all it takes to build esprit de corps and generate innovative business ideas.
5. Have a chat with the team.
There is no need to work at it alone. Include your team members at the planning stage to seek their opinions and understand what works for them and what doesn’t. By collecting their ideas, concerns and preferences, you can more effectively tailor office management solutions that can truly resonate with them.
You’ll likely receive a myriad of suggestions that do not gel together easily. This is when you can rope in an office space planning services team to help to make sense of your plan and implement them seamlessly.
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