If someone asked you the definition of office furniture, how would you do it? From our years of experience, we have seen business operators define furniture somewhere in the following set of words:
- a. It’s a set of office workstations and desks.
- b. It’s a set of depreciating assets.
- c. It’s a piece of aesthetic appeal and does nothing more than that.
- d. Who cares? Sit on it and work.
While we understand that you, as a business operator, or an office manager might have a lot to think about, beyond defining the furniture you possess. The point is – how you define it, will reflect your perspective on how to use it. In the real world, office furniture is a tool of productivity that is essential for your employees’ performance.
Now, when you look at office workstations as tools of productivity, you might want to know how can you maximize productivity with them. Follow these principles and you would’ve ensured that the productivity levels are optimal, thanks to great usage of the furniture:
Office Workstations Tips to Maximize Productivity
1. Buy what you need, not what you want
The Rembrandt painting in the lobby, the long rows of plants in the meeting area or the reflecting glass on the outside of the meeting room – as glamorous as they seem, they don’t necessarily serve any tangible utility for the business.
The furniture, on the other hand, sits alongside your employees. Thus, by design, the office workstations you buy should reflect the features your employees seek from them. For instance, companies where individual employees work on projects by themselves, buying office partition screens would be of more value than putting a flower vase at the reception desk. Thus, when you are buying furniture, focus on how it will serve your employees and help them be more productive.
2. Have a meticulously prepared office space plan
Office space usually tends to be scarce but a business has to grow and utilize whatever it has. Thus, it makes a ton of sense to be prepared beforehand on how you will tackle the space problem.
Now, business operators tend to buy office furniture as and when it is required. As a matter of fact, the average time difference between two different furniture purchases is usually more than three to four years. This shows that when businesses grow, they buy additional furniture. That said – the space will still remain the same.
This is exactly why we provide a free space planning consultation session to help you utilize every square foot of your office. This way, you can buy the additional furniture right away since you would’ve already planned for space where you will put it. Whether it is a set of back to back office workstations or just a table, you can place it in an organized manner.
3. Fix your office furniture before it is broken
Do you wait for your car to break down to take it to the service station? If you’re a responsible car owner, you must be getting your car serviced at frequent intervals. The same principle applies to office furniture.
When office workstations are not serviced on time, they tend to break down at unexpected times. Then, replacement only costs more money and even repairing attracts a longer bill. At the same time, while the replacing furniture is on the way or when the broken furniture is being repaired, there is a loss of productive hours.
Thus, buy the furniture you need, keep it in sync with your office space plan and get it serviced regularly, and your office furniture will only induce productivity and creativity in your office.