Key Tips to Arrange and Organise Your Office to Enhance Comfort and Productivity

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Is your team firing on all cylinders? If your answer to this question is “no” or “maybe”, then it’s definitely time to organise your office.

There was a time, not so long ago, when hardly any company paid attention or even put in any extra effort in their office design. All they did, and what some still do, was “strategically” arrange desks and chairs, add a computer and a telephone on every desk and expect employees to be productive just because they had decent working conditions.

Luckily, we now know better.

We know there is more to employee productivity than job security and a good wage. We know that our surroundings affect the way we work. So, as company owners or administrators, we strive to create a pleasant working environment that motivates employees and keeps them happy instead of pressuring them to deliver. Most companies are now looking for cost-effective ways to motivate and inspire their staff to become more productive in the workplace.

Companies have realised that it takes more than a pay rise or an employee of the month portrait on the company “wall of fame”, to get teams all fired up. Benefits and bonuses are also not giving the desired ‘return on investment”.

Don’t get me wrong. These are good motivators. They really are. But let’s be honest. These are nothing but quick fixes. In the long run, employee turnover depends on many factors, some of which are quite hard to quantify.

While it is a fact that human beings react exceptionally well and even get motivated when there’s some sort of monetary reward, there are other salient factors that can have a similar effect at a one-off cost.

What are these salient factors that can keep your employees inspired and get them motivated enough to enhance their productivity?  Well, the answer has everything to do with how you organise your office. How your office is designed and organised can ultimately affect your employees’ productivity.

To help you keep your employees motivated and inspired at work, we have put together some ideas to help you get started.

9 Tips on How to Organise Your Office to Enhance Comfort and Productivity

1.      Provide the Best Work Environment

This one goes without saying. It’s every employee’s right to be provided with a suitable working environment. But in terms of productivity, this goes beyond providing a space, a desk, a chair, and maybe a computer.

The right office furniture plays a huge role in enhancing productivity. Did you know that providing your employees with the right chair can increase productivity by up to 17.5 percent?

Your employees, especially those who spend most of their time seated, need to be comfortable at their workstations in order to perform as expected.

Following the classically stylish ON® office chair and athletic and dynamic IN, Wilkhahn is now adding another chair in the shape of AT, now the third in the range of its office chairs with free-to-move capability.

A healthy employee is a motivated and inspired employee. Provide them with the right type of chairs (ergonomically designed) to avoid unnecessary injuries and to let them stay focused on important tasks.

Think about it this way: how well would you perform if you had to endure a throbbing back pain?

You should also ensure that your employees are adequately equipped with all the necessary office accessories as you organise your office. Don’t have them waste precious time looking for a paperclip or the office printer. Help your team help you!

The best way to get started is to enlist the help of a design team that also provides workplace consultancy. Such a team takes time to understand what you need and comes up with tailor-made solutions. No two companies are alike.

This is why you should steer clear of pre-packaged office design and furbishing services. Instead, opt for something that helps YOU and YOUR employees stay happy and productive at the office.

2.     Get Creative with Colour

It’s a well-known fact that the colours around us influence our mood and our reactions.

The new office interiors for Orchard/MRI Newcastle

Workplace productivity doesn’t just happen. It needs to be triggered -- and colour is one of the most effective ways of giving it a nudge. Certain colours have also been known to significantly boost productivity. If you are not sure about what colour to use in your new offices and still want to make your employees happier and effective, go for green and blue.

If you want to go for optimism, energy, and innovation then mellow-yellow is your colour.

Again, this is pure theory. Be sure to consult with a specialist before making the final decision on the colours in your office.

3.     Bring Nature Inside

A bit of nature in the workplace can work wonders especially for those who are starting to be fed up by the concrete jungle. As we all know, the number of people who crave being closer to nature is constantly increasing.

Biophilic design, in the workplace

Plants, apart from being great office decorations, can also motivate your employees. Researchers have found that incorporating plants as part of your office decor can boost productivity by 15 percent.

More importantly, they are the best source for fresh air. You don’t want your employees’ brains to be deprived of oxygen, do you?

4.     Let there Be Light

When you set out to organise your office, keep in mind that light is the one thing that can affect productivity in the long run. Thus, ensuring that your office has adequate light is crucial.

While artificial lighting is the most commonly used source of light, too bright or too dim light bulbs can put a strain on your employees’ eyesight.

Negative effects such as headaches and drowsiness can drastically reduce productivity.

Natural light, on the other hand, has numerous benefits one of them being increased productivity. Natural light not only helps us stay healthy; it also affects our ability to work.

When workers are not visually stimulated, it affects their ability to remain alert and focused. Plus, the type of light used has a great impact on creativity in the office.

A nice blend of artificial light and natural light in the offices of ST Microelectronics in Edinburgh

So as you embark on redesigning your office, ensure that you use of natural light as much as possible. Always use glass partitions in rooms that don’t require visual privacy. If the space allows, you can also create an outdoor area for employees to use during their breaks. Bonus: this will also help cut down on your energy bills and make your company more eco-friendly.

5.     Arm Employees with the Right technology

Organising your office is not only about rearranging office furniture or even replacing the old desks and chairs with new ones. It also means equipping your employees with the right tools and the right technology to enable them perform their duties efficiently.

One huge mistake many employers make, especially when redesigning their offices, is to assume that their employees are happy with their tools or that they couldn’t care less about them.

As you organise your office, it is advisable to find out which of your team’s tools needs to be fixed or replaced.

Employees can very easily lose motivation if they have to use faulty or outdated office tools and technology. Yes, even if everything else in the office is brand new. After all, everyone wants to keep up with the latest technology. This is beneficial for both your employees’ careers and for the productivity level in your company.

Double monitor arms mounted on-sit stand desks at the new offices of CitNOW in Stirling

Using two computer screens, for instance, can boost productivity by up to 50 percent. By creating a wide-screen effect, your employees can perform specific tasks much faster and be more satisfied at work. Talk about shooting two birds with one stone, right?

6.     Encourage Work Station Personalisation

A brand-new office design is a great way to boost morale. Your employees will love moving into their new offices and will enjoy the change in colours and furniture. But the process of organising your office doesn’t stop with moving and settling in.

Just like moving into a new neighbourhood, your employees are bound to feel “lonely” at the new workstations. Almost everything looks foreign and unfamiliar.

In order to counter this, you should allow your employees to add that personal touch to their new space.

Interior design, office fit out and furniture for Lomond Plant in Falkirk

Encourage them to throw in a few of their favourite personal items such as small teddy bears, family photos, cards with motivational quotes and so on.

Such familiar items will keep them highly motivated and inspired. Plus, it will make work feel more comfortable and more like home.

7.      Keep the Air Flowing

Imagine if you could work here! Believe it or not, but some of us did: A trip to Actiu !

Organise your office so there’s a constant supply of fresh air throughout it.

A well-ventilated office provides the perfect atmosphere to work and it also improves employees’ overall performance.

Research shows that when you improve the air quality at work, you improve productivity.

Another study from the Technical University of Denmark revealed that indoor environment can influence work productivity by up to 10 percent.

A good indoor environment prevents health issues. It also makes the workspace comfortable to work in and, in turn, this help your employees focused and able to concentrate.

You should also ensure that your ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems are checked and serviced on a regular basis.

8.     Eliminate Clutter

A clean and organised office can help your employees get more done. Decluttering creates an optimal workspace, reduces any chance of getting distracted, and contributes to enhanced productivity.

Of course you wouldn't expect anything else but a clean and organised office at Morisons Solicitors in Glasgow !

Some people believe that a messy workspace reflects well on an employee – it shows how busy they. While this might be the case for some, the people around the messy workspace can be negatively affected by the mess.

One clever way of making decluttering a habit in your office is to simply turn it into a fun weekly or monthly activity. Make this a routine and encourage your team to discard unnecessary stuff and only keep stuff they use on a daily basis on their desk.

Another important thing is to make sure you have provided adequate storage space as you organise your office. After all, you can’t expect your team to keep clean and de-cluttered desks if you don’t provide them with the space they need to keep their stuff in.

9.     Choose the Right Design and Layout

Where we work affects what we do. Your overall office layout and design plays a major part in the way your employees perform – you already know that. Now let’s see what you can do about it.

Maxim Office Space Glasgow

When you decide to relocate your office or redesign your current one, it is very important to factor in how the design will complement your employees’ performance and productivity.

Irrespective of the number of employees you have, a poorly designed office space will negatively affect your employees’ ability to deliver.

As you organise your office, your primary goal should be to enhance your team’s performance. Keeping up with the latest trends in office design should come in second.

Though it can sometimes be challenging to strike a balance between what the management wants, how much it will cost, and how it will affect the employees, it is always advisable to seek input of your staff.

Try to involve your employees in identifying suitable designs for their workspace as much as possible. This consultative approach and the idea of working in a space that they helped create is also a great motivator and productivity booster.

Conclusion

These are just some of the key areas that you should consider when in the process of moving offices, doing an office fit out, or a refurbishing an old office space.

On a tight budget? You still shouldn’t sacrifice comfort and choose the cheapest options irrespective of how they impact your employees. The better solution is to make the changes you need in phases.

Employee productivity is key to the success of your company and to achieve this, you need to organise your office so that it promotes agile working, enhances performance, boosts creativity, and fires up their motivation. Remember, getting the right interior design team involved from the very beginning will help you create the ideal work environment for you and your team.

Plus, a skilled team of interior designers can actually save you money. For instance, they can get you better deals on office furniture due to their long-standing relationship with suppliers. At Amos Beech, our goal is to help our clients get the best results with a minimal investment.

Get in touch with our specialists to find out how we can help you organise your office and boost employee productivity.

The forest has just grown by the size of CitNOW's office!

As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility here at Amos Beech we are committed to re-foresting a Glen in the Scottish Highlands in partnership with Trees for Life.  For every fit-out project we complete in 2018 we will plant enough trees to match the actual floor area we have refurbished.

Re-foresting the Scottish Highlands 

The forest has just grown by the size of CitNOW's office. 3500 SqFt of trees will be carefully planted in protected sites in the Scottish Highlands where they will create homes for wildlife and forests for the future. The Caledonian Forest is one of our most important forest ecosystems, providing a home for spectacular wildlife, it is severely fragmented, and in many places consists entirely of old trees. Trees for Life is working to expand and link these ancient pinewoods.

Images by Trees for Life, Graphic Design by Sinds77

We take our responsibility seriously, not just in relation to our customer performance but also in relation to the environment. For this reason we have started our own grove in 2017. 

CitNOW office launch party

The team here @amosbeech were lucky enough to be invited to the office launch party at the 'Codebase Penthouse' in Stirling on Tuesday evening, an excellent opportunity to present the certificate:

Image by Robert Fyfe CitNOW

We thank CitNoW for the great evening and exotic beers, some of which were brewed in Alva near Stirling, alongside some 'Triples' from Belgium:) Not to forget the great Pizzas from award winning Napizza in Stirling.

You can plant a tree yourself!

We encourage you to plant a tree yourself, please visit our grove by clicking on the image below and follow the instructions. It is easy enough and it's only a fiver!  (update 14-06-2018: a sixer now..:)

For more information about our tree planting scheme, click on the button below: 

Amos Beech – improving every environment we touch

A little trip to Actiu in Castalla Spain

What a brilliant idea that was! When we were brainstorming about a suitable location to film a particular scene for our new company video, someone here in the office (sorry Sam that you were too busy to go yourself:) suggested to ask the lovely people of furniture designers and manufacturers Actiu if we could do that in their offices and gardens. 

The particular scene was dependent on good weather and although we love it up here in Scotland the weather is, in fairness, hard to predict..

Castalla has a lot in common with Scotland. It reminded us of Stirling but then in the colour beige.

Actiu, always on the move

Always on the movie? Not quite, but when it comes to visual appeal we here at Amos Beech in Scotland had to include them in our little film. The visual appeal doesn't only apply to their products though:

Architecture and sustainability at the technology park in Castalla

You don't suddenly wake up and start producing stunning design furniture. You live it and breath it and when you look at Actiu, they certainly do! It therefore doesn't come as a surprise to us that Vicent Berbegal, the president and founder of Actiu, has been awarded 'European Entrepreneur of the Year 2017' at the European Business Awards (EBA) ceremony, during a gala in Dubrovnik (Croatia). We have seen many factories, showrooms and offices over the years, but Actiu is certainly up there with the best. The design of the Actiu Technology Park, created by José María Tomás LLavador, was based on sustainability and the self-sufficient use of natural resources right from the outset. Rain water is collected from the roofs and stored in cisterns for irrigation and industrial use. It is also worth mentioning that Actiu is in fact an energy plant as it supplies 6 times more electricity into the grid than it needs itself. 

Biophilia

Biophilic interior design (meaning love of nature) focuses on mans' innate attraction to nature and natural processes and brings elements of nature into the built environment. We have used this in our designs a couple of times and are currently working on a stunning idea for one of our clients (watch this space!). Actiu however, is at the forefront of it in their own offices:

One of the indoor gardens at Actiu

Biophilia suggests that we all have a genetic connection to the natural world built up through hundreds of thousands of years of living in agrarian settings. It is a term popularized by American psychologist Edward O Wilson in the 1980’s, when he observed how increasing rates of urbanisation were leading to a disconnection with the natural world. Biophilia is of ever increasing importance to our health and well-being in the built environment. 

Our film

We are sort of halfway through the making of the Amos Beech video and can't reveal it just yet, as only the final end result can communicate what it is supposed to do. In that sense it is a bit like an interior fit out project:) 

The film crew from Iris Media discussing and finalising the shots

(the film will feature two of Actiu's stars Christina and David)

The Amos Beech film will explain what we as an interior design, fit-out and furniture company are about, using what a colleague here in the office calls 'moving stills'.  All of this in the attention span of an average internet user...

Serious stuff!

Careful planning and advice by the Actiu team meant that we were saved from the real burn that was expected shortly after midday.

Text on the wall outside the company gym @actiu

We tend to underestimate the power and heat of the sun. Some of us even set of to Castalla without suncream, shorts and slippers! 

Actiu: Thank you very much!

Update: we have now (27-06-2018) launched our videos! You can see them here: 

All Images by Photographer Zwolle