5 ways to spring clean your SME
Spring has finally sprung — and if you’re an entrepreneur attuned to nature, a desire to sweep away corporate cobwebs might accompany the sap rising in the trees and buds blossoming in your garden.
Taking the opportunity to ring in the changes when the clocks go forward is a fantastic idea, but it’s sometimes tough to work out which tasks will make your business a better place to work and boost customer satisfaction. With that in mind, here are five ways to spring clean your SME.
1. Brexit-proof data protection
With the UK poised on the brink of a Brexit of undefined form, businesses are doing their best to mitigate the potential damage of a no deal.
So perhaps the first task in your spring clean should be ensuring that your data protection procedures and processes are compliant.
If you don’t know where to start, don’t panic — reading this Brexit data protection guide from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) provides peace of mind.
2. Culture temperature check
You and your employees are your greatest resource and if you’ve been feeling stressed and strained, spring is as good a time as any to be receptive to their problems and offer solutions.
The first step is a cultural temperature check — seek information on important issues through a staff survey, then follow up by instigating 360 degree feedback for staff at all levels and checking customer perceptions. After these steps, you’ll know what to do to realign your culture to values.
3. Four day week
One of the hot issues which might emerge from your cultural temperature check is that staff find achieving work/life balance tricky.
And of you’re bold enough to be very progressive, implementing a four day week might be the answer. An increasing number of large and small firms are finding that cutting the working week to four days without altering salaries increases motivation and also improves productivity.
4. Dynamic decor
The physical office environment has a subtle yet significant effect on employee mood and behaviour, so if you’re stuck with a 1970s ecru colour scheme and cubical farm layout, it’s probably time for more dynamic décor.
And something as simple as a fresh coat of paint on your walls might completely alter the ambience — for example, yellow is associated with friendliness, creativity and optimism, so it might be a good pick.
5. Office cleanliness
Taking pride in your workplace often goes hand in hand with keeping your desk reasonably tidy and ensuring shared areas like kitchens aren’t messy — when these standards start to slip, it might be a symptom of dissatisfaction.
So if you want to instill a sense of cleanliness, calmness and composure throughout your office, your main entrance is key — buying an attractive mat from a firm like Kleen-Tex creates an excellent first impression and reinforces a sense of physical and psychological purity from the get-go.
Follow these five ways to spring clean your SME and prep yourself for year-round success.
