Spring is all about starting fresh, which is why it’s also the traditional time for a major clean-up. As many experts in tidying up and clearing clutter will tell you, a clean space with room for movement (both physical and psychological) will boost productivity and just make people feel better.
You may be low on time, or you might feel ready to embrace some serious reorganization. Depending on the number of hours available, consider mixing and matching the following spring-cleaning options, from quickest to most comprehensive.
1. Walk The Runway… Err, Hallway
Do a walk-through of the workplace to ensure that pathways are clear and free of tripping or falling hazards. This may mean finding storage for unused furniture, breaking down boxes, or finding a system to organize supplies.
2. Schedule Your Cleaning Spree
Set aside 30 to 90 minutes for employees to tidy up their work areas. Ask them to recycle or shred documents they no longer need, give their filing cabinet or desk drawers a once-over, clean up unruly cables, and wipe everything down.
Top Tip: Be sure to have on hand supplies like sanitizing wipes, microfiber cloths, dusters, and disposable gloves for anyone with sensitive skin.
3. Make a Fix-It List
Take inventory of everything that needs to be fixed and start tackling these projects from most to least important. This might include a broken lock on a bathroom door, dirty walls, carpet stains, broken office chairs, fraying uniforms, mismatched name tags, or malfunctioning computer equipment.
4. Clean Up Personnel Files
Often in the day-to-day rush, a document will just get stuffed into the middle of a file. Take time to go through and file documents in the right places, whether that’s a specific section of the file a document is already in or a different file entirely.
5. Tackle The Break Room
Set a day to clean the break room. Consider organizing small teams with different tasks, or reward a few volunteers for taking on the responsibility. Tasks can include:
- Emptying the fridge of expired perishables and cleaning it.
- Cleaning the microwave of cooked-on food splatters.
- Cleaning the coffee maker.
6. Do a Virtual Clean-Up
As you go through your physical spring cleaning, don’t overlook the importance of a virtual clean-up as well! Be sure to reorganize the filters and folders in your email program so all incoming mail automatically goes where it should.
Pending approval from your IT department, you can also purge your system of files and programs you rarely use and back up any important files to the cloud or a high-capacity external drive for long-term storage.
Lastly, change all your passwords for an added level of cyber-security.
What do you think?
Whether you’re finally recovering from year-end or you’re gearing up for a busy summer, it’s time to rejuvenate the office with a little spring cleaning! After all, a little maintenance here and there can go a long way. Especially if you receive an unexpected request for documentation – from an employee, attorney, or even the Department of Labor!
Want a little more comprehensive spring cleaning of your HR department? Ask us about our HR Audit service to learn how our Director of Compliance can conduct an on-site assessment of your business to keep you on track with your compliance requirements. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for even more HR tips and tricks to make sure you never miss a beat!
Photo by Ken Tomita from Pexels