Nibletz Staff
It’s easy to be swept away by the technicalities of the business world as an entrepreneur, and this is no bad thing. It’s better than you push your business to grow internally, through mediums such as online marketing and other technologically-geared solutions in an advancing and ever-evolving world.
Still, it helps to pull your head out of the virtual world of business now and then, especially if you’re running a business which is still based, in some sense, in the physical world and operated by physical people. Neglecting either of these aspects can lead productivity and efficiency to drop, meaning you’ll start to notice the effects within your virtual operations. Here’s some guidance for those business owners neglecting the important of the office space.
A better office means better workers.
If your business runs a lot of its operations online, it can be easy to forget the world around you. I’m not saying you don’t have to make connections with real-life people in real-life situations, but when business operations take place through a screen, the office-space in which you work can start to fall off into an unimportant backdrop. Yet, for many of your workers, the environment in which they work is still vitally important to their mindset.
If you want to ensure your business’ productivity stays at a high level, and your overall efficiency or reputation doesn’t falter, then you need to start thinking about your office design. Yes, you need to impress customers in the external world, but you also need to keep your employees happy on an internal basis. Dull colours, stuffy cubicles and uninspired layouts in office spaces are the butt of many jokes because they are a joke. People don’t want to feel like rats in a cage; they want to feel like people.
Improving lighting, colours, open spaces and even installing quirky features in the break room like an ice cream machine or a pool table, for example, could entirely transform your workplace. Employees might work harder when they’re actually looking forward to their breaks and they don’t have to work in such a dull, uninspiring environment. You’ll also impress guests (whether they’re potential business partners or clients) when they visit your office. This all helps to build the company image.
It’s what lies on the outside that counts.
I know. That goes against everything your mother told you as a child, but the business world isn’t like the playground. It’s a vicious, competitive and impatient game. People and businesses don’t have the time to get to know your business brand, what you truly stand for or how good your workers truly are, especially if you’re new to the playing field. That’s why you’ve got to make an impression from the word “go”, and this means your business needs to be making a rather shallow first impression through glitzy branding and an impressive exterior.
Of course, when your business reaches the point at which its ready to have its own premises, the building is very important. This is the physical symbol of your company, so you might as well make it count. There can be no half-measures in business, and this is a requirement which definitely applies to the aesthetic quality of your premises. Companies such as Armstrong Steel can offer you better guidance when it comes to creating the perfect office building.
The key to creating the perfect office on the inside and outside is to think about your business’ core values, your market, and what impression you might want to make; whether you want to be tall and intimidating or cozy and approachable, there’s a right and a wrong way to put together your business premises.
