A disorganized office is a disorganized workforce. It really does boil down to just that and there’s no other way to put it. Despite your workforce being incredibly smart and talented, if their work environment only hinders their ability to achieve goals, then they too are wasted.
An appropriate organization doesn’t overstep its mark on people that want to work a certain way, it merely makes the general office much more simple and allows everyone to function at their best. Decluttering is one thing but it doesn’t mean you have achieved organization in the office.
You really need to focus on channels of activity, where people go into the office for certain things, what they need and how fast you can get them to their next task.
Colour and order
Mundane decor in an office brings the mood down. People are stuffed into the office for 8 hours or more and so their environment needs to be friendly. They need to be able to look around and feel at home, almost as if they were in a calm garden.
There are manilla folders from 123Inkjets that are bright and vibrant but their purpose is for file organization. They are a foolscap design and have prong fasteners. These will help each employee keep each project and task in a neat and organized fashion but also add a touch of colour to their desk.
So many things
What is the thing that accumulates the most in an office? Pens and pencils just seem to grow and grow in number. One simple way to bunch up all of them is to put them into a wide and heavy container. You don’t want them spilling all over the place at a touch of a misplaced hand and causing more problems.
A very easy DIY fix is putting them in large jam jars. Clear away any labelling or label them to each their own i.e. ‘pens’ and ‘pencils’. The opening is wide so it’s easy to spread the pens out and get the right one that is needed e.g. a red marking pen. If you want you can lay them on their sides, because of the rim the pens will not fall out so easily.
Jotting it down
Throughout the day, employees take a lot of notes. These aren’t just about a broad objective for the whole office but reminders and helpful information for themselves to support them in their duties. However sticky notes are often not long-lasting and they don’t provide a lot of room either.
Instead, employ the use of small magnets that can be stuck onto various parts of a desk. This could be on the lamp, the computer monitor, the flower vase or the table legs even. Now larger papers with notes can be stuck to them and it keeps one’s thoughts and reminders organized.
The fewer times a worker has to stop and fiddle around with something they lost like a note, the more time they spend on the actual tasks at hand. An office that is lost in itself will always succeed in getting the least out of its employees.
This is a collaborative post.
