Everybody knows about the big “must haves” when it comes to starting a business. You need have a website that conveys the right message about your business. You need to have enough office space for your team to properly do their jobs. Heck, you need to build a team! It’s easy to let some of the smaller details fall by the wayside in favor of the bigger things that seem so much more important.
The problem with this is that some of those smaller details are really important. Taking care of them now will help make tackling the bigger things so much easier.
Here are some of the most important “little” things that are actually “Must Haves.”
Comfortable working spaces
For a long time this meant providing your team with very comfortable and ergonomic chairs to sit on. Today, studies are showing that standing desks are much better for a person’s health than a desk that forces someone to sit down all day.
Providing standing or, even better, convertible desks (those are the desks that can easily be adjusted between sitting and standing) will go a long way toward helping your employees be healthier and more comfortable. Ikea makes an adjustable standing desk that is pretty great and will go easy on your budget. While you’re at it, make sure you still provide those comfy chairs and, for the standers, high quality anti-fatigue mats on which to stand.
Beverages and snacks
Yes, you could simply run a loose workspace in which people are allowed to head out to the corner store or nearest coffee shop for coffee and a snack whenever they feel the need to do so. It’s better, though, to provide those beverages and snacks in house. Setting up a break room with a coffee pot (the Curtis brand brewers are a good choice because they brew coffee, and provide plain hot water for tea, etc) and a fridge (The GE Cafe Series makes great break room fridges) and cupboards that are filled with juices, sodas and other snacks will help everybody save money. Look for ways to be as efficient as possible. A bottleless water dispenser is a great way to save money, protect the environment and purify the water from your tap.
In general, you want to reduce the risk of seriously disrupting a person’s work flow when they need a refreshment.
Good printers
Do not rely on officejet printers for your company. Install high quality printers that can print many pages quickly and that can handle multiple orders at a time. According to CNET, one of the best laser printers for small offices is the Oki B431DN. One of the most frustrating things in an office space–even in those that are primarily paperless–is having to wait for a printout because the printer got jammed or confused by too many orders being sent to it at once.
Noise canceling headphones
Some people work well in an open or bullpen/cube farm environment. They appreciate being able to talk to their coworkers easily and like the comaraderie these spaces are supposed to foster. Some, however, find chatting and other types of background noise incredibly distracting and, for some, it can even affect their morale.
Providing noise canceling headphones to every workstation (or employee, if they share work stations) is a great way to accommodate both personality and stress types at once. PC Mag rates Bose’s line of noise canceling headphones very highly for performance, but if price is a concern, Sony wins it’s “best price” designation.
Professional cleaners
After so many product-specific suggestions, this one might seem a little out of place, particularly since finding a good cleaning service is so dependent upon your location (which makes recommending one or two difficult). Even so, it’s worth a mention. Yes, you want to encourage everybody to keep their desks neat and organized.
Further, keeping their work spaces neat and tidy is absolutely something for which they should be responsible. They should not, however, be expected to clean bathrooms, vacuum, etc. Hire a cleaning crew to come in at least once a week to give your office space a thorough scrubbing. It’s important for your team and it is important for the clients who will be visiting you on your “home turf.”
It’s easy to put off things like hiring a cleaning crew or setting up a proper breakroom. Trust us, though: you and your team will be glad you made the things in this article a priority. They will save you so much time and money over the long term!