Whether your company deals with work involving intensive physical activity or mental exertion, every office space and the workers in it require certain tools and gadgets to function efficiently.
Every office has its own particular needs and so, they invest in tools accordingly. But there are some items and devices that can be used in almost every working space to increase productivity.
Printer
A basic printer in an absolute necessity in every office space. No business operates without documentation and exchange of written materials. Almost every employee requires the use of a printer once a day and if the office does not house a printer for its operations, the productivity of its employees is definitely going to be affected along with the utter wastage of time in trying to find a third-party printing vendor.
So depending on the size of your company, the printing needs of the staff and budget constraints, you need to set up a printing facility at your office. A central printing setup will help you keep better track of your printing costs and necessary cut-downs as well.
Copy Machine
Just like a printer, a copy machine is an equally important tool to help speed up office work, especially when large bulks of documents are concerned. Compared to printing, copying is a much cheaper and faster solution, provided you do have an initial printed version.
Copy machines with varying degrees of quality are available so, opt for an option that can serve as an alternative to a printed version depending on your cost analysis and office-culture.
You can also use an electric stapler in conjunction with a copy machine or a printer. This will help reduce your manual effort and wastage of office supplies and time. If you are unaware of an electric stapler, click here for details.
Projector
A projector is a must for the central meeting/conference room in the office. It allows you to better communicate your plans and presentations to the people present without having to go through the tediousness of sharing files and documents with everyone and pointing out concerned instructions every now and then. Everyone can keep track of the progress on the same screen, thus eliminating any confusions or lags.
VOIP Phone System
Gone are the days of traditional phone calling with wired phone sets and heavy call bills. Now technology has paved way for systems like VOIP.
VOIP is a technology that works with a software integrated hardware device (namely VOIP phone) that actually makes use of an internet connection to make phone calls over an IP address. Such solutions are cost-effective and easily scale-able, thus adding to the company’s benefit.
External Hard drives
For any data-driven business, having external storage equipment to back up everything, whether normal or sensitive in nature, is of utmost importance.
If your company deals with sensitive information and data, then your options are encrypted hard-drives or solid state drives. Hard drives are cheaper but SSDs are more durable and secure. So depending on your budget, you need to find the appropriate option for yourself.
Also, external hard drives are portable so it’s very easy to work with them if your data needs to be transported in case of heavier data or insecure transmission system over the internet.
Paper Shredder
No matter how technologically savvy workplace you might be working at, paperwork is a definite companion. And if you have an in-house paper shredding facility, then you can get rid of any waste paper quickly and without any data theft worries. Moreover, this shredded paper can then be sent for recycling. So you can get rid of any sensitive data, like account details, client details etc., without destroying an important resource like paper.
If not an in-house shredder, the company should hire an external shredding service that would get rid of all the data and excess used-paper regularly, and then turn it over to recycling.
Coffee Maker
It may sound absurd to mention this as an essential item for an office. But the caffeine boosts brain activity and leads to refreshed work effort. Meaning better productivity!
A major portion of your day goes to your work and having a beverage corner in your office, rather than having to go outside for a refresher, will definitely save time and energy. It will also provide opportunities to better communicate with your co-workers and enhance overall collaboration within the work environment.
