There’s a lot of factors that play into how well your office works, and you’re going to need to pay attention to every piece of the puzzle to have an effective business. You need the right equipment, you need the right working ethic, you need the right space, you need the right light etc. But some factors matter a little more than others, especially if they’re a part human element.
You’re the boss, you’re the one running things, and one of the biggest variables you’re trying to organize and run are the staff on your payroll – are you taking care of them in the right way? Do they have the best working environment to suit both their and your business needs? Let’s examine this idea with a few of the pointers below.
Do you see anything wrong with this picture? (Source)
Do Your Employees Share Your Company Values?
Your company values mean a lot to you, as they should, but you can’t be sure they mean the same to the people who work for you and your business. A lot of people have the right skills and qualifications, and they do the work properly and efficiently, and that’s enough. But sometimes, you need a staff member on your side who shares your passion. And as the boss, you’re the person who needs to encourage these morals and values in the team you’ve cultivated.
What can you do? Make sure to reward them for their good work, and always recognise them for what they accomplish day by day. And make these rewards usable – maybe money off vouchers, certificates they can add to a CV etc. It’s methods like these that make sure your employees believe in the company they work for, and believe in you as a reliable and trustworthy boss. Because you’ve shown them that you and your values can support them in return, and that’s a cycle you should aim to uphold.
Do Your Employees Seem to Slack a Lot?
Slacking employees can be anyone who turns up late on a regular basis, or someone who spends a lot of time talking and being distracted whilst at their desk. Maybe it’s a minor deterrence that you can work comfortably with and around, maybe it’s a major disruption that gets other members of your staff into trouble as well. Either way, this kind of problem isn’t entirely their fault.
Your employees need to take breaks, and sometimes, they may not have the chance or room to do so effectively. They may not have time to socialise with one another and eat their lunch, seeing as they’ve only got 10 or 15 minutes before they have to be back at their desk. Maybe they don’t even have a dedicated meeting room. You need to change this: make breaks longer, at least half and hour, so people have time to eat and talk and then be back at their desks refreshed; if you don’t have a break room, cultivate a seating space at the back of the office where people can relax and recharge for a while.
But if you have the space, whether it be a room filled with old filing cabinets or old network servers, be sure to clear it out and convert it into a space for your employees to take a break from the rest of the working environment. Not only will you have less inventory to deal with, but you’ll have a valuable commodity on your hands, that you can easily advertise in any job packages you intend to offer.
You’ll want your staff to be able to keep and eat their lunch in there, and have some entertainment sources like a TV or free wifi to log onto via their phones. It’s just little adjustments like these that can really change the quality of life your employees experience whilst at work, so be sure to try and introduce similar methods or changes to them.
Are Your Employees Comfortable Enough?
Being comfortable is a big part of doing your best work. If you’re in a cold office, you’re going to shiver and waste energy and brain power simply combatting the chill, not to mention the amount of potential complaints you’re going to recieve. If you’re in an office that’s too warm, you’re going to be sleepy and unfocused, common for drowsy summer and autumn afternoons when some of your best business is going to occur. You need your employees to be comfortable in the environment they’re working in, to make sure they’re on the ball and on time with everything they do. All in all, you need the right temperature, the right light, the right layouts, and the right chairs to feel comfortable whilst at work.
You’ll want to buy some ergonomic chairs at the least, to make sure people are never harming their health when seated behind a desk or at a meeting table 8 hours a day. You’ll also want to keep your office on a constant temperature cycle – never too warm or cold, even in summer. This allows employees to get used to the atmosphere, dress accordingly, and open windows when need be. You might even want to consider consulting a service like office fitout, to make sure you’ve got the right kind of cubicle dividers and working space for your employees to knuckle down in. Even at work, it’s very beneficial to know you’ve got your own private space to spread out in.
So, How Well Are Your Staff Doing?
How comfortable would you say your working environment was? Does it have all the amenities that are expected of the modern business world? When you take a look around, are you satisfied to be working there, and consider if your staff will be too?
Your employees need a good working environment to get stuck into, and it’s your job to make it one that’s functional and comfortable. Cultivating a healthy working atmosphere is a hearty sign of a business that knows what it’s doing.