The organization, decoration and management of an office is something which is ignored by most of the businessmen regardless the size of the company or organization. Although production, sales and marketing are the key factors for business success but these factors are the outputs! Have you ever think about your inputs? Investment, assets, capital etc are not the only inputs, though they are your core investments, but ‘Soft Investments’, which can be leveraged very easily, are ignored widely! As a businessman, you should always think about those little things, or ‘Soft Investments’ which will let you to differentiate from your competitors.
Buying proper and appropriate office products will not only increase the effectiveness and efficiency of your employees rather it will also develop a sense of "Importance" of your business. Let’s take a look of some products and possible improvements which can be worked as a supplement to the improvement of your work place.
Office Furniture
Extremely critical but mostly ignored factor in an office is its furniture. The arrangement and organization of the furniture is the first thing in your office which conditions the mind-set of your employees! The type, material and arrangement of the furniture in an office is a science in itself. The whole setup should be hugely based upon the business nature of your company. A company with creative business nature like advertising, software development or an internet Company needs a quite different setup as compared to a corporate office for an FMGC or a financial institution. The average age of your employees and their particular demographics should be considered before setting up the arrangements. An interior decorator can be hired in order to have an appropriate advice. Make sure that your employees will be comfortable with the furniture setup.
File Cabinets
Creating mess in an office is very easy and the task can be done in several ways. Not having enough file cabinets is one of them. Having appropriate and enough file cabinets won't cost you much but will surely save your lots of time by providing you proper means of managing your files. If it is possible to provide dedicated file cabinets to each of your employee, then go for this option.
White Boards
If boosting the collective creativity of your employees is your dream, then you should seriously consider white boards in your workplace. For creative businesses like software development, graphic designing, advertising, and marketing or, for companies with innovative products or services, having enough white boards should be the top most priority. For a big, cold corporate company which unintentionally loves the status-of-quo, white boards may be a yes by words but a big no from heart. If you happen to be a boss and want to inject some virtual steroids into your lazy looking subordinates, give a try to white boards, at least once! I am sure that this move will surely ignite your employees at least by some extent.
Projectors
Although many offices posses at least one projector but if you are not one of them, then you should consider having a one. You know, in many small-sized offices, unavailability of projectors led the employees to ignore the importance of digital presentations! So, if your competitor is a one who hasn't a projector yet, then I think you will not like to lose the chance of differentiating yourself from them.
Go Green
Going green is now a de-fecto trend all around the world. Why don't you use it to get benefits on a zero cost? Adding plants in the premises can be the most psychologically beneficial addition in your office. It will also convey a message to your clients that you actually care about many things besides your profits!
Some Creative Measures
If providing personalized rest chambers to your employees is not raising the eyes brows of your finance department, then consider them. But make sure that the purchases must have minimal financial pressure on your company.
Natural Lighting
Your office location and windows should be in the direction of Sun. Sunlight gives a natural and healthy look to a place. If you have plants in your office, then you will get double benefits.
These all measures will definitely cost you some money but can you imagine the satisfaction, it will bring to your employees? Remember one thing, high salaries are not the only factor for employee satisfaction! Rather many things can contribute in enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency motivation of an employee. If your employees are not motivated, your company will become stagnant very soon, resulting in a decreased overall productivity.
