Smart Space Usage and How Can Small Companies Expand in a Tight Environment
by Fintech News Singapore March 3, 2022If your small business premises is struggling under the weight of boxes of products, walls of filing cabinets, over-crowded desks, and all of your staff squeezed into a small office space, here are some space-saving ideas you should consider.
Firstly, your company should transition to a paperless system. This is not only a great space saver but can be a money and time saver as well. If you are still overwhelmed with items in the office that you do not necessarily need around every day, a great option is to put some of your business supplies, products, and so on, in storage. You can even find a secure and reliable storage service that uses robot technology to store, guard, and manage your items.
If your office is over-run with employees as well as physical objects, you can save space and prevent overcrowding by introducing flexible hours and remote working opportunities. By staggering when employees are on-premises and when they have their lunch breaks, you can minimize the chaos of an over-full office. Allowing some workers to work from home will also free up a lot of space, and with the help of your paperless system and good technological tools, the remote workers can be just as involved and part of the team as they would be if they were in-person.
Finally, by converting the conference room into a multi-purpose work, break, and meeting room, you eliminate the need for several separate spaces and avoid having dead space in the office. There is no sense in having a large room that remains unoccupied for big chunks of the day, so you can allow your staff to book time slots in the conference room for their own use. They can use it as a quieter break-away working environment, or else to hold small training sessions or give presentations.
Go Paperless
If your problem lies predominantly in having an overwhelming amount of paper files, and big bulky filing cabinets that are taking over your office spaces, another option is to reduce your use of paper forms and documents and transition to a paperless system. There are several useful apps and technologies available to reduce your dependency on paper.
With these technologies at your disposal, your business can run smoothly, efficiently, and profitably, all without the need for paper. You can send invoices, make payments, receive and confirm orders, take notes, and communicate all via the internet and tablets, rather than on paper. Modern technologies allow you to provide e-signatures, store documents securely on digital platforms, transition to digital meetings (using technologies like PowerPoint and Zoom) and move your marketing strategy online. Online marketing has the bonus of reaching a much larger audience than paper ads.
With these modern methods, you can save your office a lot of storage space, as well as reduce expenditure on paper and ink supplies. Moreover, you will likely find that relying on digital folders and organization is a big time saver, as you don’t need to walk to the physical storage room and hunt down certain documents. You will also save time sending emails instead of posting letters, paying bills online, and filling in your e-signature with a click, opposed to writing it down. Going paperless is a win-win!
image via Unsplash
Storefriendly Robot Storage Facilities
If your small business premises are struggling to cope with an overwhelming amount of paperwork, products, equipment, and other items that take up a lot of space, you should consider putting some of the items you do not use every day into storage. In this ever-advancing technological world, there now exist storage facilities that use robot workers, and have no-man zones, so your items can be stored in a high-tech, high-security facility, away from people and harm.
With Storefriendly’s ingenious new self-storage facilities, you can store your business’ files and items safely away in a cabinet guarded by robots. GObots (short for StorefriendlyGo’s Robots) are clever little machines that provide robotic storage in Singapore and help to transport your personal cabinets into safe, no-man zone areas. When you want to access your items, you simply scan your personal access card, and a robot will fetch your locked cabinet and bring it to a designated terminal kiosk.
This high-tech service includes 24-hour aircon storage to protect your items from dampness, as well as 24-hour security cameras and insurance to further minimize risks. There are lifts on every floor for easy moving and loading, and a move-in service so you don’t need to personally carry all of your items into storage. You can also buy packing equipment, such as penknives, tape, boxes, and padlocks, at the storage facility offices before you move your items.
If you are considering using the Storefriendly robotic storage service, you can take a virtual tour of the storage facility on the Storefriendly website and see their resident GObot, Gary, working tirelessly to keep the storage items safe and secure. If you wish to see the facility in person, book an appointment online to visit the facility today. Free parking is available at selected branches. You can check this with the front desk.
This service is incredibly convenient for its users, with biometric security access you can visit any time during the opening hours, without having to contact the facility first, and you will find trolleys to assist you with moving your items. You can pay for the storage by cash, cheque, or credit card a month in advance, and do not need to commit to long-term leases. Storefriendly’s facilities can be used for as little time as one month, as long as you give fourteen days’ notice that you are leaving.
You can store most household, business, or commercial items at the Storefriendly facilities. The only prohibited items are those deemed dangerous, such as “toxic/corrosive/oxidizing materials, flammable gases/liquids, gunpowder/firearms, batteries, and prohibited/controlled items and fuel or diesel. Mowers must be drained of fuel.”
Introduce Flexible Work Schedules
Another simple but effective solution to over-crowing in the office is to alter your workers’ schedules to stagger their presence in the office. If you have some part-time workers, you can design a work schedule that has them come into the office on different days or at different times, wherever possible. This means two people can share one desk or work area, but avoid being at the office at the same time and banging elbows.
You could offer your full-time workers flexible hours, so some start and finish work an hour or two earlier or later than the others. This will stagger the arrival and work hours of your employees, meaning the office will be less packed for several hours of the day. This will also allow workers to choose their start and finishing times based on their personal preferences, sleep patterns, and other commitments. Employees will be grateful for this opportunity and loyal to the company as a result.
Encouraging your employees to take their breaks at different times throughout the day will also reduce crowding in the office as employees come and go sporadically. Especially if you are trying to maintain social distancing in the workplace, this is a great way to achieve the ideal two meters between each employee.
Encourage Remote Working
You could introduce a system of alternating which workers come into the office and which ones work from home. A rotating schedule would ensure that everyone gets the benefits of both options. This will allow you to keep the office populated and lively while avoiding overcrowding and desk sharing.
You might even find, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, that many of your workers are accustomed to working remotely and prefer it to come into the office. If it suits your business to allow them to work remotely all the time, this would be a great way of minimizing traffic in and out of the small office spaces. The remote workers can still be a valued part of the team with help from the aforementioned technologies like Zoom and email, which will keep them informed, connected to work meetings, and able to raise questions or issues just as well as if they were physically present.
If you are already transitioning to a paperless system you will find having remote workers far easier. This is because their lack of ability to write in-person signatures, take physical notes, or access a filing cabinet in the office will not matter any longer. They can access everything they need and complete bureaucratic tasks from the comfort of their homes via the internet.
image via Unsplash
Flexible Rooms
If your office has a conference room, consider making it more of a multipurpose space. Realistically, conference rooms are not occupied a large portion of the working day, and they then become wasted space. This space, however, is full of potential.
You can use a booking system for employees to book time slots in the conference room when there are no meetings scheduled, and they can use the space as a quieter break away working environment, or else to hold small training sessions, practice presentations, or to meet with clients.
This kind of flexible work area is a dynamic space where employees can choose where and how they want to work. This can increase productivity and employee satisfaction and is a space-saving success. De-formalizing the conference room and providing the freedom to choose where employees would like to work can foster creativity and encourage collaboration in workers who otherwise are seated far apart and rarely interact during their working days.
You can even use several fold-out tables to make up your big conference table so that when there is no full-team meeting underway, the tables can be separated and used as extra desks. This will allow people to move into the conference room for more space and less bustle. The extra desks in a quieter area are ideal for those who need a more relaxed environment to concentrate, who have to make a phone call and need some privacy, or who want to work on a project in a small team.
The conference room can also be used as the lunch area, eliminating the need for a separate break room. As long as it is equipped with a coffee-making station, fridge, and microwave, your staff should be happy to accept this multipurpose room.
Start Saving Space Today
Whether you decide to use one or all five of these space-saving techniques, your small business premises are about to become a lot more manageable. With a paperless system, your company will be taking a decisive step into the future of filing and conducting business transactions and will be freeing up a lot of previously wasted space. Gone are the days when filing cabinets and row after row of shelves stacked with folders were must-haves in all business filing systems. It is time to go digital and start saving time, effort, money, and space.
What could be more exciting, efficient, and convenient than having your business items, products, and equipment stored in a robot-managed storage facility? Welcome to the future! With the trusty assistance of Gary the GObot, you can store your items in a surveilled, air-conditioned, secure cabinet, and access them whenever you like within the facility’s opening hours.
By embracing flexible work schedules and remote working for some employees you will significantly reduce overcrowding in the office, and foster a happier, more relaxed, and trusting work environment. Employees can decide which hours suit them, or whether they would prefer to work from home, and you can eliminate the need for desk sharing.
Finally, reimagining the conference room and creating a multipurpose workspace in the office can promote collaborative working, allow employees to break away to a quieter environment, and foster creativity in employees who thrive in the change of scenery from their desks. This flexible room can function as a break room, meeting area, or training space, which is a much more practical solution than having several different areas of the office designated for these activities and having them sit empty for large sections of the day.
Featured image credit: Unsplash
