Did you know that roughly 60% of all businesses in South Africa are SMMEs? Most of these micro enterprises check the box that says, “Less than 10 employees”, and many of them operate from home or a small office.
You may not have the budget or the desire for a prime commercial location with a massive corner suite for the boss man. But, you can still make the best use of the space you have and maintain a great level of creativity and order.
A key element to consider is your company’s organisational structure. How are decisions made? What culture do you want to promote? A hierarchical arrangement would logically place the senior member of staff away to the side in his or her own space. However, a more collaborative team would have an open-plan space which encourages the free flow of communication and ideas.
With a small office, you have more latitude to be frugal by buying second-hand, quirky furniture which tells the company story. What story does your office tell your clients when they come by for a meeting?
A research paper in 2001 identified ten of the most important office space qualities. The top four were as follows:
- Ability to do distraction-free solo work
- Support for impromptu interactions
- Support for meetings and undistracted group work
- Workspace comfort, ergonomics, and enough space for work tools
Your people want to be comfortable interacting with their team, but also able to do their solo work. It’s a tricky one to pull off in a small office, but it is doable.
Consider moveable desks. A desk on wheels answers the problem of personal comfort and placement preference. The space needed for fixed banks of desks is no longer an issue, since people can move to where they are needed at any given time.
If you don’t have the space for a boardroom table then invest in a few comfy sofas, or one of those ergonomic-friendly standing tables. Or better still, take your meetings outside. An hour in the park or at a local coffee shop is a great way to get the team out of the office and into a different head space.
As far as possible, automate office activities and make good use of multi-tasking technology to free up space. Do you really need one of those enormous laser printers that spits out a gazillion pages a second when you only print every other day?
Whatever your small office needs are, we are certain that we can help. Office automation is what we do and we have a solution for you. Call us on 011 789-1608 or visit us at www.mailmech.co.za to find out more.