Whether we notice it or not, our productivity can be affected positively or negatively by where we work. A cluttered, gloomy, and crowded environment is likely to decrease your effectiveness while a light, spacious room will improve your concentration.
Furthermore, with property values in downtown metropolises increasing, businesses are compelled to find creative ways of maximising their office spaces.
So, if you’re a company owner looking to give more breathing room to your staff or whether you’re trying to get some legroom in your cubicle, here are six ways to maximise your limited office space.
Take Inventory
Make a list of exactly what you are using the office for. Do you use it for brainstorming? Do you use it for weekly team meetings? Do you use it to host luncheons? Do you use it as a warehouse? Do you also use it to meet with clients? What else do you intend to use it for? Map out where in the office these operations actually take place.
Next, list the furniture and items you like, the ones you actually use, and the ones you don’t use. The idea is to identify items you don’t use and clear them. Clearing extra items off sometimes helps to make more space.
Are you still holding on to cartridges used for printers? Do you still have a need for that extra monitor? You can donate or recycle them.
Eliminate Clutter
Clear your office of all the unnecessary office furniture or equipment you don’t need. When congestion exists in a small room, space can feel too congested, leading to a decline in productivity for employees.
To make the office feel less crowded, use intelligent storage systems and smart devices. Also, box up, cable ties and generally tidy messy cables.
If you have sensitive documents such as tax records that are taking up space in your office, you can declutter by storing them safely in a self-storage unit. There are several self-storage solution providers in Onehunga such as Auckland onehunga that you can trust to safely store your sensitive documents.
Use Smaller Furniture
Big desks are a dream of small businesses but they are an inefficient use of office space. If your office is small, try reducing the size of the furniture you use. Your desk doesn’t need to be very big in a cubicle environment – much of the valuable work is already saved on your computer.
Bulkier desks take up more room than necessary while file cabinets should also be on the leaner side. By cutting down on paper use you can also limit the number of file cabinets taking up office space. Every bit counts in a small office.
Go Digital
You can save precious space by storing all your files and records in a single archive or cloud-based storage system. For most SMEs, if you can store them online, there’s no need to keep hard copy documents on-site.
The use of e-brochures, cloud technology and secure servers is a much better option than storing unnecessary paperwork on hard copies.
Using iPads in meetings is also a good way to cut down on your printing costs – which can mean creating extra space by not having to store paper boxes. This is also good for the environment as well.
Encourage Telecommuting
What if you’ve implemented a lot of great ideas about maximising your office space but the available space still isn’t enough and moving isn’t an option?
Telecommuting can help – encouraging employees to spend a day or more every week working from home frees up tight office space and gives them more flexibility and freedom. It will create the illusion of a larger office with fewer bodies but ensures that the same amount of work is done, perhaps even more efficiently.
Conclusion
While there is no one-size-fits-all trick for maximising your office space, there are some ideas that if implemented will help you make the best of the space in your office. You have them already. Implement them and give yourself and your employees the environment they need to be more productive.
