Three Important Factors That Improve Workplace Productivity

Pictured: Pairings, Joelle, Narrate, Splendor, Xsede

The business world is more competitive than ever. In an environment where margins are thin and the competition is nipping at your heels, optimizing employee productivity is an essential part of doing business.

Achieving better productivity is a complicated and deeply personal endeavor. There are many ways to address this issue, but here at BOLD Office Solutions, we have identified three important factors that affect employee productivity. In this article, we will discuss how furniture, color, and creativity can make a big difference in workplace productivity.

Furniture should equal freedom

Office furniture is a key ingredient when it comes to a better productivity recipe. While the open plan is popular now, it’s important to accommodate different work styles without lumping everyone into the same layout. Studies suggest that when you give employees the ability to move around the office you are giving them a sense of freedom, which is critical to wellbeing. When they feel well, people are more productive.

Variety is the spice of life and when it comes to the workplace, this couldn’t be truer. A thoughtful and well-planned furniture arrangement should include areas to collaborate, concentrate and break away as a small team when the need arises. Ergonomic solutions need to be incorporated in every space to help keep employees in good physical and mental shape.

How color plays a role

Color plays an important but often overlooked role in workplace productivity. Every year experts weigh in on which colors will be workplace trends and it’s common to select what’s popular. However, correlate with productivity. Considered needs to be given to color affects mood and behavior.

For instance, blue is widely known as a productivity booster. Green improves productivity for people who work long, uninterrupted hours without causing eye fatigue.Yellow stimulates creativity and gives people a sense of optimism. Your interior designer or workplace consultant will help you decide on a color pallet that will ultimately improve workplace productivity.

Foster creativity

Thoughtful interior design can have a dramatic impact on creativity. Creative thinking helps companies solve problems. When you solve your customer’s problems, you have happy customers. Happy customers ultimately benefit your businesses bottom line.

Creativity can happen anywhere, but to rely on it happening on a regular basis in the workplace is a challenge. One recent study by Dale R. Landry from the University of Nebraska explores conditions that foster creativity in the workplace. Thirty-five influencing factors were identified, but the key takeaway was that the workplace should be flexible, allowing creative thinkers to address problems in different ways, both at the individual workstation and across the workplace landscape as a whole.

Bringing it all together

The benefits of a well-planned workplace are innumerable. When you bring together smart furniture solutions and a flexible and stylish workplace, your employees are happier and more productive.

When companies want to be more innovative in today’s marketplace, they turn to overall workplace improvements for a competitive edge. Contact BOLD Office Solutions to start a discussion about improving your workplace’s productivity.

Getting Back to Work – Change Management Strategies for the Office

Pictured: Pairings & Joelle

A major workplace change is almost always predicated by growth, relocation or renovation. Whatever the reason it can be a big interruption for weeks and even months. Beyond the actual physical change that occurs, habits, emotions and cultural landscapes change as well. Change can be uncomfortable but It can also be a wonderful opportunity to bring the team back together.

If proper change management strategies are in place before a single piece of furniture is moved, it can be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Here are some proven strategies to make workplace change as painless as possible.

Brand Your Change

Set the tone by giving it a brand. By branding change, you can create a sense of purpose and meaning that your team can get behind. A successful brand represents positive emotions established by messaging, imagery and leadership. What are the motivating factors driving the change? Use these key themes to create a brand-guideline with mission statements, purpose and anticipated outcomes. When you give change a brand, it’s easier to get everyone else on board.

Manage Expectations

Don’t sugar coat change. Be as transparent as possible to better manage expectations down the road. Change can be massively disruptive especially when it reaches across multiple departments in the workplace. In order to better manage change, spend plenty of time planning the different phases of change and share those plans with everyone on the team. Set realistic expectations about small details and long-term goals.

Assign Responsibilities

Before change occurs you need to appoint a few champions of change. These individuals may be in leadership roles, but don’t overlook people who are really excited about the new workplace. It takes a positive attitude to deal with change, and if you have appointed change champions who are enthusiastic, those sentiments disseminate throughout the workplace.

There are bound to be questions and concerns both before and after workplace change. By assigning change champions you create a centralized resource center to field questions and inspire a positive outlook. This also frees up the leadership team to address high-level objectives without responding to drop-in questions or email inquiries.

Offer Support

As we mentioned earlier, change can be incredibly disruptive, both during and even after all of the desks and chairs are back into place. Creating a support system can alleviate a lot of headaches and frustrations after the change.

Let’s face it, change is scary. With proper planning, change can be a rewarding and positive experience for the entire workplace. You can’t anticipate every little misstep along the way, but by setting an optimistic tone and having systems in place to address issues when they arise, you can stay on track. Is your workplace facing change? Let us know if you have any questions or comments. We’d love to hear from you!

Get Up, Stand Up!

Just this last Spring I started a new venture in an industry I had never really given much thought to… commercial furniture sales. Well, I did come from a background in grocery retail experience after all. Previously I worked for America’s Healthiest Grocery Store, Whole Foods Market and part-time at Trek Bikes. As you can imagine, I love teaching people the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. I’m sure you’re asking, “Why would you jump ship to go sell office furniture?”

Well to be honest I was looking for a job that would open up more opportunities to grow professionally and at the same time allow for more financial freedom. My initial thoughts were that I was just putting myself into a position I never thought I would be in, a sedentary desk job. What I didn’t know is that I was entering the industry at a time where there are new and exciting trends in office ergonomics and design.

Standing desks, open floor plans, motion seating and collaboration workstations are all ways that besides looking cool, can help increase the productivity, the health and happiness of people who work, no matter the location of where they are actually working. It wasn’t long after I started that I began to hear that “sitting is the new smoking” and that doing so for prolonged periods comes with a host of negative health benefits. When possible, it’s encouraged to take breaks and walk away from your desk, but that’s easier said than done. I know firsthand the benefits of having a standing desk at my workstation.

A Boost in Productivity and Energy

Since starting in April I have seen the noticeable benefits of having a standing desk to work at. It became very clear to me that humans were not intended to sit for a long duration of time. We were designed to move. Once I stand up my body immediately feels an energy boost. My blood flows freely and delivers more oxygen to my muscles, making me feel better and ultimately more focused on the task at hand. When I feel better, I’m more productive! Who wouldn’t want that? An increase in circulation means more blood to the brain, which I find gives my core processor increased function, better focus and more creativity. (It has definitely improved my nightly bike rides!)

Proper Posture = Positive Attitude

With my job change, I have now become more aware of how my overall attitude is effected by how feel during the day while at work, which is to some degree dependent on my desk and chair options. Getting to utilize my sit to stand desk has been awesome, but I realize the choice of task chair is also an important component in my overall posture and therefore my attitude. Fortunately for me I work inside a furniture showroom filled with wonderful ergo seating options so I basically have no reason to ever be in a bad mood (so says my fiancé).

At the end of the day it all comes down to this. The human body was meant to move. A healthy combination of sitting and standing throughout the day is a great way to improve your posture and overall health.

Finally…despite taking what many felt was a big risk with my personal career, I believe I found a job that allows me to continue to talk to people about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. Working with my customers I continue to encourage them to think about what changes if any they can make to create a more productive, healthier and happier work environment. I would love to meet all of you at some point, so come see me at BOLD for healthy and productive desking and seating options or come join me on the bike trails of Omaha!

Happy Trails,

Joe Victora
BOLD Sales Professional & Bike Enthusiast

BOLD Design Blog Post

Hello and welcome to BOLD’s Blog. I’m excited to start sharing with you the
trends within the furniture world, recent BOLD installations and any other topic
that may come my way.

Here’s a quick “about BOLD” so that you have the opportunity to get to know us a
little bit more: BOLD Office Solutions (Bold Office), a Kimball Select Dealership,
was created in March 2009 by owner Jay Bolding and Kimball Office. Their
collective intent is to establish a furniture dealership in the Omaha Market that is
truly different. At BOLD Office, we answer the question of “WHY” we exist as
follows: To assist our customers in Creating a More Productive, Healthier, and
Happier Workplace! It’s really just that simple, although it takes a lot of quality
people dedicating themselves to make this a reality each and every day.

BOLD Office’s customers have quickly realized the value of this approach as BOLD
Office has been recognized in the last three years, 2015, 2016 and 2017 by
Omaha’s B2B Magazine as one of Omaha’s Best Furniture Dealerships. In addition,
the service minded installation company owned by Jay, Office Furniture Installers
(OFI), has also been recognized by B2B Magazine as Omaha’s best installation and
commercial moving company for 2017 in addition to the six consecutive years
2008‐2013.

As an interior designer, I’m here to assist each customer with their vision to
create a workplace environment that encourages productivity, health and
happiness‐ all the while being mindful of the financial resources available to
achieve these aspirations. I love the opportunity to help bring client’s stories and
personalities to the office. Individual productivity is more about emotion than it
ever has been within workplaces so creating healthier/happier spaces is a key
ingredient to success. It’s my job to provide the interior solutions that best
accomplish this for a client regardless of their budget.

Even small and simple changes can make a big improvement. For example,
leverage natural light and create work areas near it. Or pay attention to what is
“most used” by your employees. Is it the giant conference room table or softer
furniture groupings that foster impromptu meetings? After watching how your
employees work, make small investments within what environment is popular
and working for your end users.

Examples of offices using both of those simple changes:

Natural Light Leverage:
This BOLD client wanted every employee to have a chance to see daylight. End
result: private and non‐private working spaces created around windows.

Utilizing and investing in “most used” practices:
This BOLD client knew their employee’s needed “I” working space but discovered
they are highly collaborative. End result: benching workstations with lower height
furniture and lots of break out areas for teams to freely utilize.

This is just the beginning of sharing from us here at BOLD. We are excited to have
this corner of the internet as a place to connect with YOU!! Thanks for stopping
by and be sure to visit often.