How can you do more with less? It’s the question every organisation wants the answer to. Productivity is the Holy Grail of today’s businesses. Everyone wants it, but the real challenge is working out how to achieve it without putting in extra time and effort.
Discover how to work smarter, not harder, with these office solutions:
Don’t underestimate the lost time and extra stress caused by an inefficient working environment. A massive 72% of workers feel less productive when working in a disorganised office. They’re wasting time searching for items buried under random papers and desktop clutter or maybe they’re distracted by messy workstations.
Creating a productive workplace can be as simple as providing the right office stationery to help them organise their space. File folder labels, storage solutions and coloured folders can help workers eliminate desktop chaos and create a methodical system to do their job more efficiently.
Flexible working offers incredible opportunities for productivity, not to mention personal and professional growth. But no organisation can reap the true rewards of flexible working without the right technology and office solutions. It’s all about to providing employees with the tools they need to organise, plan and communicate more efficiently.
Tablets and laptops together with cloud-sharing tools and business apps are enabling flexible working. When you free employees from their desk, they can enjoy the space to work at their best, wherever and whenever that may be. But it doesn’t stop there – consider how you can use technology alongside other office solutions, such as business furniture, to enhance flexible working, collaboration, and secure centralised storage of information.
Organisations are adapting to a new workforce: one that is more focused on collaboration and establishing meaningful connections. So how do you create a place where everyone can interact and collaborate, no matter what role they’re in or what goal they are trying to reach?
It starts in the building design itself. Look to office solutions, such as ergonomic furniture, sit-to-stand desks and whiteboards, and more informal spaces, like kitchen and break out areas. Use them to create a dynamic environment that breaks down barriers and creates new opportunities for employees to communicate, build relationships and spark new ideas.
Australian office workers take almost two days’ sick leave each year due to unhygienic workplaces , which is costing Australian businesses $5.4 billion a year in lost earnings. That’s no small change! But here’s the kicker – research also shows office employees spend an average of 2.2 days avoiding unhygienic areas. Think about how long you spend time queuing for the cleanest toilet cubicle rather than working.
The answer is remarkably simple. By providing convenient office solutions, such as ready-to-use cleaning wipes and dishwashing tablets, you can help workers save time and enjoy a more hygienic workplace.
Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) Act and Regulations compliance means every workplace and its facilities must be safe for everyone. But putting safety first can also enable a workforce to be more productive. For example, by providing enough light to enable employees to perform tasks without straining their eyes or adopting awkward postures, they are more productive and take fewer sick days. Consider customised vending and storage solutions to improve productivity even more by giving staff 24/7 accessibility to the products they need.
Being First-Aid ready is another must-have for every workplace. The last thing you want is for employees to be searching everywhere for a First-Aid kit when they need it most or even opening the First-Aid Kit to find that it doesn’t have what they need. Keep First-Aid kits close to areas where there’s a higher risk of injury or illness, and check on the supplies at least once a month.
Healthy workers are productive workers – and it starts in the stomach. What we put into our bodies has a huge impact on our physical health, concentration, mental wellbeing and performance at work. Everyone knows how a poor decision in the lunchroom can derail an entire afternoon.
Make it easier for employees to achieve healthy snacking over unhealthy snacking by ordering in fresh produce. Offer nutritious foods, such as fresh fruit and trail mix, as well as healthy brekkie options such as “grab and go” breakfast bars and nutritious cereals. It’s a simple and cost-effective way to fuel workers and boost cognitive performance.
In recent research, 80% of workers in large companies stated that taking a break makes them more productive. Yet research from The Australia Institute and beyondblue found that 3.8 million Australian workers regularly skip lunch breaks. Why? Because they are ‘too busy’ .
We live in a world where “busyness” has become fashionable, but it comes at the detriment of productivity. Now’s the time to help workers break out of the chronic busyness cycle and see the light. And the answer could be as simple as offering a free cup of coffee. Giving workers an on-site coffee solution is an effective way to encourage meaningful breaks, while saving the costs associated with employees leaving the workplace in search of coffee.
Take a good look at your workplace kitchen – it might just be the most important room in the office. Not only does the kitchen offer workers a functional place to prepare and eat food, it also serves as a social hub.
Creating a “kitchen hub” can help employees across departments get to know each other and build the trust that leads to new ideas, better problem solving and more informed decision-making – all of which drives productivity. Of course, the workplace kitchen still needs to be a healthy, stress-free everyday space where employees can enjoy breaks, socialise and eat lunch.
If you want to offer your employees a kitchen hub that encourages socialising, collaboration and keeps everyone productive, office solutions have the answer. Start with small appliances, cutlery and storage that make preparing food quick and easy. Next, consider offering a range of flexible furniture to encourage collaboration and support agile working.
Productivity is a challenge for every organisation, no matter its size or type. These eight productivity strategies are not only practical and simple to implement, they can serve as a catalyst for changing the way employees work and engage with each other.
Here at Winc, we believe in the power of office solutions to fuel productivity. That’s why we provide access to over 100,000 products from one easy order platform – easy, simple and intuitive. Explore the possibilities and get the solutions delivered straight to your desk.
