First impressions are important, especially for businesses. Clients, new employees, and business partners all develop certain expectations based on what they see as soon as they walk in the door. Creating and maintaining a professional-looking space can build confidence and help businesses of all sizes improve their reputations.
The problem is that running a business is hard, so many business owners neglect details like cleanliness and tidiness. Those who are ready to take steps to resolve problems like accumulating clutter and unprofessional, dirty offices can read on to find out about three key aspects that deserve some extra focus.
Keeping Carpets Clean
Carpets are a great flooring option for offices, but they tend to accumulate dirt, dust, and debris. Although people already working every day in the office may not notice new dirt or stains, these issues will be abundantly obvious to first-time visitors. Dirty carpets look unkempt and can even create unpleasant odors.
Carpets should be vacuumed as often as possible, ideally daily. Investing in commercial cleaning from Grime Scrubbers will make it easy to keep carpets clean so business owners and employees alike can be proud of their workspaces. Vacuuming carpets regularly and performing periodic deep cleans also helps to reduce allergy and asthma symptoms.
Maintaining a Fresh Smell
Dirty carpets aren’t the only source of unpleasant scents in modern offices. In busy work environments, it’s hard for managers to stay on top of everything and ensure that kitchen areas, break rooms, and individual workstations smell fresh and clean.
Avoid the temptation to use overpoweringly scented air fresheners or cleaning products. They may mask unpleasant odors, but these products can create new problems of their own, from acting as allergy triggers to affecting employees’ focus and mood.
To reduce unpleasant odors, make sure that food preparation areas get cleaned regularly throughout the day and remove all the waste from the office every night. Adequate ventilation can also help. If the office smells musty or moldy, hire a professional to deep clean everything, then stick to a frequent cleaning schedule to stay on top of things.
Keep Clutter at Bay
It’s easy for employees to become blind to clutter in the workplace, but it’s one of the first things any visitor will notice when he or she walks into an office. Too much clutter can also negatively impact workers’ productivity and their moods.
Take a step back and try to look at the office from an outside perspective. Are there stacks of paper, boxes, or random items lying around that don’t serve any discernible use? If so, use the following tips to get things under control:
- Dispose of paperwork or items that don’t serve any purpose.
- Create storage solutions for any essential paperwork.
- Store items near where they are most frequently used to encourage workers to put them back in their rightful places.
- Label everything.
- Encourage workers to keep their own spaces looking neat and tidy.
Enlist Some Professional Help
While it’s perfectly fair to ask individual office employees to keep their desks free of clutter, it’s unreasonable to expect them to vacuum carpets or deep clean break rooms. Business owners should enlist professional help to keep their offices looking and smelling clean and fresh. It’s worth the investment.
