Office, Uncategorized

What Does Your Office Say About You?

Your office is your home away from home. It’s the place where you fight for market share, pursue new business opportunities, and realize your dreams. It’s also, for better or for worse, part of the public face of your company.

As a result, the most productive offices typically balance the comforts of home with a professional business image. But does your office live up to this goal? Chances are it could use some fine-tuning or perhaps even a completely new approach — achieving your objectives without busting your budget.

Whether you’re just getting started with a new office space or hunting for tips to breathe new life into an existing space, we’ve come up with eight important things to consider. Put these tips to work and you’ll be sure to put your best foot forward on the path to business success.

1. Make First Impressions Count

When you spend every day working in an office, it’s easy to forget how others might see the same space. So put yourself in the shoes of a first-time visitor: What does your office say about your company? Does it present an organized, efficient image? Does it reflect a healthy, active business? Is it both a practical workspace and a welcoming environment for visitors and colleagues?

Be sure to look also at the outside entrance to your office. Is it clean and inviting? Does the reception area make the right first impression? If you usually use a back or side entrance, is the front door clean and accessible? Spending just a few minutes a week keeping things tidy, and investing a few dollars in new plants or a fresh coat of paint, will ensure that first-time visitors see your office the way you want them to see it.

2. Add a Splash of Color

The ideal office space mirrors, to some extent, the type of work you do. Neutral colors, for example, are a good fit for conservative lines of work such as banking and legal services. And for more creative offices, such as photographers and graphic designers, a warmer, more vibrant approach often makes sense. Either way, make a deliberate decision about your office paint and decor — don’t just accept whatever was there when you moved in.

At the same time, think about how to incorporate your company’s branding into your office decor. Consider where and how to use your business name or logo, and decide whether it’s appropriate to hang a sign outside your office. Issues like where to put your business logo and what color of paint to use may seem trivial, but they can have a powerful psychological impact when potential customers or clients come calling.

3. Look for Cost-Effective Office Furniture Alternatives

Think an office-supply store is the best place to buy office furniture? Think again. Even buying furniture from a “discount” store can set your business back thousands of dollars. And while leasing furniture may sound like an easy option, it can be even more expensive than buying new furniture.

First, consider acquiring office furniture one piece at a time rather than as a set. By purchasing single pieces with a similar style and color, you’ll have more options for buying furniture — and nobody is likely to notice the difference.

Real-estate “staging” firms are another great way to acquire high-quality furniture at a low price. Stagers keep large collections of furniture that they use to dress up homes for sale (including home offices). Most of the time a stager’s furniture gets used just a few times and then put up for sale at a steep discount. The International Association of Home Staging Professionals can put you in touch with stagers in your area.

4. Declare War on Office Clutter

Over time, most businesses acquire huge piles of paper: file boxes, stacks of documents, and other office debris. We all tell ourselves that we’ll get around to organizing it someday, but we rarely do.

Maybe it’s time to set aside a few minutes a day to put office clutter in its place. Go through documents one box or stack at a time and decide whether to file or discard them. Over time, spending even a few minutes a day will dramatically reduce office clutter. In the process, you may find that an uncluttered office actually makes you feel more energetic and organized.

For small business owners, office space is always at a premium. Now that you’ve banished all of those file boxes and old documents, take a look at how you and your employees use office space. Do you spend more time looking for items you need than you do actually using them? Do you buy new supplies only to discover later that you already had what you needed?

The best way to deal with these problems is to create functional spaces for specific office activities. Keep your files and archives in one area; put your copier, printer, and fax machine in another. Create dedicated storage areas for common office items, and restock them as needed. And if you have new employees coming on board, consider creating “new hire kits” that include everything they need to start work — without fumbling around or buying duplicate items.

6. Put Yourself into a Position of Power

You don’t have to be a Feng Shui master to appreciate the impact that aesthetics can have on a productive business environment. Even in strictly practical terms, the decisions you make about where to place office furniture and how to use lighting are worth considering carefully.

In other words, skip the lucky bamboo if you want — but do consider positioning your desk so that you combine personal privacy and comfort with the ability to greet visitors and communicate with co-workers. You may also want to turn off harsh overhead fluorescent lights and add indirect lighting, such as lamps and task lights. And be sure to take full advantage of any natural light available to your workspace. Whether you call this Feng Shui or plain old common sense, it all adds up to an office with a comfortable, practical layout and an atmosphere that’s more conducive to productive work.

7. Connect with the Local Arts Community

Ever walk into an office and smirk at the “Successory” posters plastered to the walls? So have we — and if that’s our only decorative option, we’d rather stare at a bare wall.

Fortunately, there may be a far more creative alternative available: Consider inviting local artists to display their artwork in your office. It’s a great way to add color and style to your office while giving artists a place to showcase their work to your clients, customers, and visitors. And depending upon what line of work you’re in, it could also give you a ready-made way to extend your company’s marketing message to a whole new audience.
Source: https://www.allbusiness.com/slideshow/tips-on-decorating-your-office-space-15617190-1.html