5 Tips For Developing a Functional Office Space as a Small Business

Small business owners typically wear many hats, and it can be easy to become overwhelmed with everything they need to manage daily. Being organised and staying in control is undeniably key for small business owners, and you’ll find that the set-up and design of your office space will play a key role in helping you achieve your organisational goals.

When setting up your ideal office space, it’s crucial that you consider how you and your wider team operate, what your workflow is like, and what features will help you streamline your processes and become more efficient as you continue to grow.

Let’s look at a few other things you’ll need to keep in mind when developing a truly functional office space that’s tailor-made to ensure your company hits all its desired targets.

The Right Equipment

From computers to printers, copiers, fax machines, and more, you can fill your office with no shortage of equipment. While getting carried away and buying every last piece of office equipment available is easy, this is never the best approach. Instead, try to focus on buying high-quality office equipment that you and your team will use regularly and that will easily fit in your space.

Focus On Comfort

For you and your team to be able to perform at your very best, it’s crucial that you are comfortable throughout the workday. Slouching, hunching and overextending can lead to repetitive stress injuries over time, which can naturally impact the quality of your workdays. Consider getting an electric desk so that you can alternate between sitting and standing through the day; you can even pair your height adjustable desk with a walking treadmill to get some exercise while you work.

Repetitive discomfort in the office can also lead to your team taking more sick days, which can further impact your organisation’s productivity moving forward. Consider investing in ergonomically designed furniture to keep your team comfortable, focused, and energised. Alongside investing in ergonomic furniture, you should encourage your employees to set their workspaces up to be as comfortable as possible, perhaps using ergonomic mice, keyboards, and other desk accessories.

Use A Variety Of Spaces

Throughout the day, you may need to use different areas of your office for different purposes, effectively creating a highly flexible office space. For instance, you may need a private space free of distractions to meet with clients, a larger room to hold team or project meetings, or you may even want access to a space where your team can enjoy some downtime or discuss the projects they are working on in a casual setting to change up their thought process. Creating different areas throughout your office will allow you to innately maximise the space you have available and provide your wider workforce with opportunities to work in new ways.

Solid Internet Connection

It should go without saying, but nowadays, having a reliable internet connection is more important than ever. From customer communications to marketing to utilising a wide range of cloud-based business software packages, modern small business owners rely heavily on having a fast internet connection. With a reliable connection, your team will be able to work without interruption and be more efficient in their roles in your company.

If you’ve found that the network connectivity in your office space is lacking, it may be worth investing in a network plan with higher bandwidth, running ethernet cabling across your office to provide wired coverage to all large devices like printers and desktop computers, or even installing some range extenders throughout your office space to help boost your signal in corners of your office space that may be lacking in network connectedness when compared to other areas.

Create A Functional Office Space Where You Can Thrive

The needs of every business are completely different, and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to designing an office space. What is functional for one business may not work for another, so be sure to take the time to assess the unique needs of your business before you start redesigning your space. With a better understanding of what you’ll need to achieve your metrics for success, you will absolutely be able to develop an office space where you and your team can thrive.

There’s no denying that if you want your small business to thrive from the get-go, ensuring that your office space is well-equipped to allow your wider workforce to perform at their best is an absolute must. For you and your team to work efficiently and productively, it’s important that you have access to everything that you need, that you have a comfortable workspace and that your space is set up with the needs of your wider organisation and its daily operations in mind.

With the right approach to developing your office space, you can ensure that your business will continue progressing from strength to strength.