Basic Principles For Running An Efficient Office
POSTED 18 Jan 2012

How many times have you thought, ‘Ok, I know it’s a mess but I know where everything is’, or even, ‘I’ll sort all this out later’, and ‘later’ never comes? 

Knowing where everything is is great but getting into a habit like this is not so great.  You want your business to grow and when it does, breaking this habit will be hard to do.  Eventually, not having efficient systems in place will show in many different forms.  Putting in simple office procedures and systems is easy to do, it will ensure that your office runs smoothly, will allow you and your employees to work in an efficient manner and will, in turn, bring less stress and frustration, lower costs and give you more time.

That said however, of course you have to bear in mind that we all have different personalities, work ethics and run businesses of varying types, but whatever our differences, we all have day-to-day demands to manage.  Having efficient office systems in place will improve your success and will provide you with a far less stressful environment in which to work.

Here are some specific points that will help when putting your office systems in place:

The layout of your office
To start you firstly need to think about your furniture and equipment and where best to place them so that your office is workable. Ensure that you place things logically and work their location into your personal preferences and what will work best for you. If you can, avoid using fixed furniture, as your business grows your systems will need to absorb change.

Think carefully and logically when planning your office.  Install and place equipment in locations where you won’t have to continually move them in order to get to other items as this will take up a lot of your valuable time. 

Computers
Ensure that you check computers regularly for updates and that your antivirus software is up to date also.  Failing to check these can almost certainly ensure that at best your computers will begin to run slowly and at worst, they will not be protected against viruses or worse. Take small but regular chunks of time out to ensure that you are familiar with your filenames and file locations.  This will save you a lot of time and potential headache later.  

Information Systems
Ensure that everyone involved in the running of your office has easy access to the important information that is relevant to them and their role. The most effective way to do this is by setting up an Intranet, however, placing information in easy-to-read places or setting up a central file can also work well.  Also ensure that all employees have access to the same information, again where relevant, which will encourage continuity.

Ensure that your information systems are regularly reviewed so that important changes can be made as your business grows.

Your filing system
The way you file your documentation is down to personal preference.  Some prefer to electronically file, some prefer good old fashioned paper filing and some like both!  Whichever method of filing you choose however, it will only be useful if you know where to find what you need.  The mark of a good filing system is one where documentation need only to be handled once within your chosen method before it goes straight to its designated place. 

If you choose to file mainly electronically, utilise archiving as much as possible, it is safe, it can be backed up and it saves on valuable office space.  Your filing system should run in a logical order with the most often used and important files in the foreground. 

Even if you are short of time, ensure that you file your documentation immediately.  Saving the job ‘for later’ will not happen and is a sure-fire way to lose important documentation in a busy environment, taking up a lot of your valuable time later on.

Time Management
You can find lots of information on time management – and quite rightly so.  It cannot be expressed enough how vital good time management is.  With information overload ever present and so much for you to do as a small business owner, it makes sense that you plan ahead and prioritise.  This kind of management and planning will ensure that you work more effectively and will help you to give more quality to your tasks.  The following tips may help:

• Keep lists, plan how much time you will give to each task, write it down or design yourself a simple spreadsheet that you can use from week to week.
   
• Don’t drift from task to task, you will lose your focus and will not accomplish anything.  Complete one task before moving on to the next. 
   
• Set up a timetable for your regular tasks so that you can factor the other tasks in between them.
   
• Be strict about what times of the day are best chosen to deal with different tasks.  For example, what times are best for you to make calls? What times are best for you to deal with emails?
   
• Set aside short chunks of time, perhaps at the end of a week, or even a day if you prefer, to review your lists and what has been achieved, I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised!
   

Information, people and resources are key to any organisation. If efficient systems for managing and controlling your operation are not in place, you will quickly find that the cracks will start to show and your stress levels will increase.  Think on a bigger scale, think into the future, setting up efficient systems now will set a solid foundation as your business grows.  A solid ‘back office’ foundation will ensure the elimination of stress and clutter and will free up your time.  Provided that strict systems are in place and adhered to, an efficient office will virtually run itself.