Filed under: Business Advice — admin @ 11:46 am
There are so many things that you need to consider when it comes to your business, and being socially responsible along with your bottom line are two huge points. So, by making your workplace more energy efficient you can save money on energy prices and give your company a better image.
We all know that the energy situation is in something of a crisis and there are more and more reasons for all of us to go green, and play a part in the world’s future. I guess the big question for you now is how do I go about designing an energy efficient office? Well, this can be a simple task as long as you know what you’re doing.
1. Equipment – When you are buying the machines for your office, you can save energy and money by buying things like scanners, fax machines and printers that come with the certified Energy Star. When you consider that computers can cut energy usage by 60% when certified and using power management, this can make a whole lot of difference for many reasons. Similarly, see if it is viable to have everyone using laptop computers because desktop models can use as much as 80% more energy.
2. Power strips – No matter what equipment you have, it’s likely that you can still save more on energy through getting rid of things like sleep and standby overnight. If you have a printer, laptops and other office machinery, get them plugged in to one strip and just disconnect that are the end of the day so that everything is unplugged and not sucking your energy.
3. Check the market – Tariffs are different in every location or for what you need, and as there is never one company that can claim to be the cheapest you can always find a better deal for both your business and home accounts. So with that in mind, take a look to see if you could switch suppliers and cut your energy bills through more than just energy saving measures.
4. Location is everything – Depending on what your budget is and the location you are choosing, having the office in the right spot can also make you energy efficient. For example, if you use window walls then you can make better use of the natural light and save on lighting costs. Also, if the sun is shining on the office, it will be warmer and you won’t have to spend so much heating the place. What’s more is that many office blocks are being built with energy efficiency in mind so have a look at what they do to lower the building’s expenditure on these bills.
5. Limit printing – Emailing is your friend, and through sending out information over the internet instead of having a number of copies printed, you can save on energy and paper. Make sure everyone in the office knows it, consider using applications like Dropbox and Cloud for sharing private documents so that everyone can see what is going around.
All these things help you to get a more energy efficient office and, of course, there are other things you could do to trim the bill. If you’re getting a new refrigerator, keep it small and try to have any coffee machines or water coolers on timers and this will all help to save the pennies, which ultimately save the pounds.
Article for uswitch.com
Filed under: Business equipment — admin @ 9:50 am
We take a tour through simple ideas for creating a great balance between work and play
When it comes to building a strong office environment – whether that office is nestled in your house or on the twentieth floor of a plexi-glass iron-plated building – there are certain principles which remain the same.
Underpinning the productive working environment is the atmosphere, the furniture and the attitude towards the work itself. All of these elements are essential considerations in building a space where individuals will be energised and excited to work.
For many of us, whether working with computers or on drawing boards, plain paper or hand-held devices, it is all about the right type of office desk. Ryman have a good range, and any large, central workspace is usually typified by a desk or table shape – so this piece of furniture is no insignificant thing. Take a look at their range by clicking the link.
Alongside considering the interior architecture of the office – separate offices? Cubicles? Huge open plan areas? – you also need to have a very careful eye on what kind of desk all this productive work is going to be done around.
Cool, raw untreated wooden tables and benches are gorgeous to look at – and perfect for a picnic – but you’ll have to consider the shape, height and comfort of such items if you are designing a trendy new office.
Will you have a lot of wires through the desk? Do you therefore need to consider having holes or gaps to accommodate them? It may be cheaper to buy several huge communal desks – but will this aid your work environment? Will it develop and stimulate your employees?
And what about lighting? This is an essential consideration. Many modern offices fail to take advantage of natural light. Many are built with huge amounts of glass and open windows – and then nullify this by utilising far too many blinds, creating dingy workspaces, which then necessitate glaring neons.
For more information on this important point read this useful article on how to achieve proper lighting in your home office.
Filed under: Business Advice — admin @ 10:34 pm
An Advertising Feature
There’s some very old advice given to job candidates, encouraging them to dress the part even when they’ve not a penny left. The same goes for seat-of-the-pants entrepreneurs, working from the spare bedroom but turning up to meet new clients looking reliable, in a not-too-new but expensive suit. Even creative types have to look the part – would you feel comfortable hiring a designer apparently too disorganised to wash her clothes? The same wisdom applies to your premises – the only problem is, many bosses baulk at what they perceive as an unnecessary expense & fail to extend their office refurbishment beyond some squashy leather sofas & a fruit-bowl in the foyer.
A smart foyer & meeting room certainly reassure clients that you’re doing well; that they’re in good hands & their money is well invested. But what about your employees? Management Today magazine conducted a survey across thousands of UK workers. They found that 97% of employees see a direct correlation between the quality of their working environment & how well they’re valued by their employer.
Yet, staggeringly, only 37% of them concluded that their own workplace was appropriately designed. We’re not talking a hankering for flowers & teddy-bears here & there. It’s a question of being too embarrassed to bring clients & colleagues back to the office; of wasting 30 minutes finding what you need to get on with your job; of the temperature being so out of whack that everyone’s either too hot or too cold, & constantly distracted by their discomfort (& that of their more vocal colleagues). Then there’s time lost to RSI, back pain, eye strain, dust-induced respiratory problems, & simple but oh-so-vicious stress.
Research undertaken by Warwick Business School discovered that people work 12% harder than neutral when happy, & 12% less than neutral when unhappy, even when they were paid exactly the same fee. Carry on neglecting your workers & not only will their productivity falter – they’ll start to gossip. Low morale spreads as infectiously as laughter, & HR costs incurred by perpetual new hires & new training over a couple of years can easily outpace what you spend on decent office chairs to keep your existing workforce (& their lumbar regions) happy. Persistent miserliness can also spread the impression that the company is struggling. Your best workers will jump ship, & so might your clients if the rumour reaches them.
Unfortunately, many employers refuse to squint beyond the immediate expense of sorting out their workers’ environment. A well-organised office can save up to £1000 annually per employee, in time spent preparing for work every year. Workspace assessments can identify under-utilized office space & shrink the amount of room needed by the business, cutting rental & facilities management costs. Energy efficiency – sealing drafts, installing efficient climate control, energy-saving fixtures & fittings – can slice zeros off your overheads in the long term.
A refit doesn’t need to be expensive. There’s no need to throw out what does work. Existing furniture & materials can be reused, recycled or even sold to offset the cost of new ones – or given to charity, which will at least be tax-deductible – & the sum you’ll save in the long run is provably greater than what you’ll fritter away while you’re waiting until you feel generous enough.
