Spring is, traditionally, a season of renewal and – you guessed it – spring cleaning. Many of us clean out our refrigerators and garages in the spring. Still, fewer people use this season as an excuse to clean up office space, reorganize computer systems, weed through contacts and old files, and generally free up mental energy at work.
If you usually don’t give much thought to spring cleaning in the workplace, now is a great time to do it.
Workspace clutter increases stress levels. Surveys have shown that you and your employees would save time and be more effective if you better organize your workspace.
If the above statements ring true to you, then it’s time to do some spring cleaning and declutter!
Set up Spring Cleaning Processes and Procedures
Before you start tackling clutter, it’s time to think about what needs to be tackled first and how to reorganize. This is best done by creating a process and then breaking down the more significant steps into a procedure.
Setting Up Your Process
We are calling this a “spring cleaning” process, but it likely should be called something like a “quarterly cleaning” process – as you should perform deep cleaning and organizational tasks more than one time each year.
To begin your process, ask yourself a few questions:
1. What needs to be cleaned? This could include:
- Physical workspace
- Files
- Desktop and/or laptop computer
- Cubbies and nooks
- Storage spaces and closets
2. How do these spaces need to be cleaned? Should they be physically cleaned (dusted, etc.), or do they need to be reorganized?
3. If these spaces need reorganization, what is the system I plan to use to ensure consistency?
4. What tools do I need to begin my spring cleaning?
5. How much time should I allot to this process?
6. Do I need help from employees – or should I have staff perform this process in their areas?
7. Are there common areas either physically in the office or virtually on the intranet that need to be reorganized?
7a. How should these common areas be reorganized, and who should do the reorganizing?
These questions will help you form an idea of the scope of work and lay out the process required to ensure nothing is missed during this spring cleaning. Additionally, by laying out a process now, you guarantee that future large-scale cleanings in your company can be performed rapidly and with consistency.
Creating Procedures
Now that you have your process established, it’s time to create your spring cleaning procedures. These are your step-by-step directions for the cleaning and organizing process.
As you create procedures, a few questions you should ask yourself are:
1. How do I ensure that these steps are repeatable? Sometimes it isn’t easy to verbally describe an action, but it’s simple to take a photo or brief video.
2. Where will these processes and procedures be stored so that they remain accessible – but don’t add to existing clutter?
3. What does the result of the process look like? Did I accomplish what I set out to do?
Creating repeatable processes for all to follow is a great way to encourage your staff to perform a spring cleaning of their own. Reducing clutter will improve productivity and may even get creative juices flowing!
Home Office Spring Cleaning
You may perform an annual office spring cleaning already – but remote work has likely thrown you off-kilter. You may be asking yourself questions like:
- Is your home office part of your home, or is it an extension of your office?
- Should you apply the same processes here as you would a more publicly visible workspace?
- What about any A/V equipment you have set up for Zoom meetings – how does that fit in?
Your remote workspace should be treated as an extension of your office – not your home. Consider creating a unique process for decluttering your home office that takes the space into account and adds in a little bit of peace and serenity.
The way we do business is constantly changing. As you create new products and systems, be sure also to make new organizational processes so that your workspace inspires you instead of creating inefficiencies.
Are you ready to make your business more organized and efficient? Contact the experts at Business Success Consulting Group today!
