What does a tidy office and clean working space say about you? While it’s true that an orderly office environment often equates to an organised and ordered mind, it also speaks volumes to your colleagues and business associates. Here’s how regular office cleaning can help improve your productivity, your business turnover and your day to day pleasure.
As a professional cleaning service, we often get calls from clients who feel that their office space is letting them down. A clean and tidy environment not only speaks volumes to colleagues and business associates but can affect your mood and energy levels. We know it, you know it – there ’s nothing more frustrating than struggling to find the stapler or sorting through reams of paper to find an urgent invoice.
Where to start? Begin with a good spring clean, removing clutter from desktops and tables and wiping down surfaces. If you need help, employ the services of a commercial cleaning service to kickstart your efforts. Once desk areas, carpets, surfaces and fittings are clean, you can start to address where items belong and how to organise any filing, paperwork, stock and other items. From here on in, you need to create systems that will help you remain organised. Here are some simple steps to follow for clean and tidy office success:
- What’s on your desk? Starting with your desk space, take every single item that is currently on your desk and place them on the floor. Only put back the things that need to be on the desk, such as your screen, keyboard, laptop and phone. Put all the other items like sunglasses, tissues, headphones, drinks and letters away in their designated place.
- What items need to be close by? While you might not need a pen on your desk, the chances are you’ll need one nearby. Think about the things you use the most regularly and place them in drawers or shelves close to your desk. Put stationery in caddies or drawers – use a plastic organiser tray.
- What needs labelling? It’s always helpful to know what is inside a folder, rather than having to leaf through it. Label all folders, wallets and shelves and order alphabetically where possible.
- Sort loose papers. It’s hard to stay on top of things when there are papers and invoices piled sky-high in your in-tray. Sort documents into separate projects and then put these into a clear plastic folder (the envelope shaped ones are good as they don’t let any contents escape). Label each one for ease of use and, when you finish a project, hole punch and file the materials. Create other systems like this to remain organised.
- Manage your in-tray. An in-tray is a temporary loading bay. Any work and mail that enters should only stay there briefly before it is dealt with (either by filing, passing invoices for payment, or adding to a current project jacket file). Don’t let your in-tray act as a drawer.
- Look under your desk. By now your desk will be looking clear and clutter free but what’s going on underneath? It’s time to take home that extra pair of shoes, gym kit or shopping that you have stored underneath. Also, put piles of books away on shelves and return the file that you borrowed from your colleague.
- Look to communal areas. As well as your immediate office space think about the workspace in its entirety. Are there areas that look cluttered or untidy? Does the kitchen need to be sorted? Is your reception area muddled with magazines, books, coats or piles of old mail?
- Get everyone in on the act. It’s no use one person tidying up and then hoping everyone will follow suit. Get the whole office in on a tidy and clean-up operation. To motivate those who might otherwise ignore such requests, turn it into a competition or include food, music and drinks to turn it into a clean-up party.
- Maintain your neat and clean approach. Continue to reinforce your new habits through regular repetition. To help keep your office looking clean and smelling fresh consider hiring a professional cleaning service to come in at regular intervals.
When it comes to keeping your office clean CMOS can help. We tailor our services to meet your specific needs and use environmentally-friendly products where possible. Please call to discuss how we can help you to keep your office clean and tidy.