Even if you’ve finally managed to get comfortable working from home, there’s the chance you’ll need to get back to the office sooner rather than later. This Office 2.0 will be a little different from what you’re used to, but this is your chance to transform the office experience. The first place to look is to streamline the workplace to make it work better for you, your employees, and your clients.
Tidy Up, Clear the Clutter
It’s impossible to create a productive atmosphere if the office is a mess. Instituting a tidy desk policy is a good place to start, but you need to lead by example. Besides this, you can also get rid of office furniture that is past it’s best. Hiring skip bins or donating the furniture to charity stores will help you get rid of everything you don’t need, and it won’t take up space on the sidewalk outside your building. From this, you can adapt your office with a minimalist approach, and you can reinvest funds to upgrade your furniture or computer desks.
Go Digital
Literal paper trails are going out of fashion in the world of business, and although we still need physical documents now and again, you can streamline your office by going digital and uploading your data to servers or the cloud. This won’t just clear the space in your office, reducing the need for filing cabinets and causing a mess, but it will also help your staff find information easier, as they only need to search for keywords. However, when digitizing, you need to know how to keep your files safe from breaches, which could be catastrophic for your company.
Change How You Communicate
You may not realize it, but managers and coworkers waste so much time every day because they cannot communicate effectively, both at the office and over business messaging programs like Slack. Rather than beat around the bush, it is best to say what you mean to say the first time, rather than rely on vague and almost passive-aggressive remarks to get what you want. The more you focus on how you say it rather than what you say, the more transparent your needs will be, which enables everyone to get on with their projects without confusion.
Ditch The Meetings
Ditching the meetings is something everyone will welcome. How many times have you had a meeting that could have easily been an email, or even a quick chat with one or two people in the office? Meetings sap time away from the workday. They unsettle people; they cause distractions. Therefore, you should look for a viable alternative to full-office meetings. Rather than have several little meetings throughout the week, make a policy to have one meeting at a specific time to help you cover everything. This will help people manage their time better and improve productivity, without disrupting each workday.
Simply Streamlined
Streamlining anything can make everything feel fresher, breezier, and easier. Whether you need to make a lot of changes or just a few changes here and there, you’ll be able to get back to work and provide a comfortable experience for anyone who comes into your office.
