Whether your team works in an office, retail space, stockroom, or warehouse, finding ways to maximize that space can be difficult. Here are some tips on utilizing as much space as possible in your work area:
Get rid of clutter
If you want to maximize space, things need to be organized. Whether you are in an office or a warehouse, do not allow areas to get cluttered. A desk with items that don’t belong or that could be placed elsewhere could easily be used for other purposes. Additionally, cluttered spaces can often distract employees while they are working. Set up a schedule in your work area to inspect all spaces and throw out any unneeded items.
Go vertical
If you cannot create any more space than you already have on the floor, consider looking up. If possible, install shelving or cabinets to create more storage options. If you are unable to drill into walls, try putting labeled bins on top of desks or other areas. Just be sure you do not stack too high where items could potentially fall and injure people. Get creative with adding shelves, too. Try adding them between unordinary locations to truly get the most out of your work space.
Move things closer together
While it might seem appealing to have an airy, open floorplan, it might work better to move things closer by a couple of inches to get more available space. This is especially true in warehouses, where employees will likely not notice a couple of inches lost. Be sure any equipment that needs to move between aisles can still fit and that it is a safe amount of space for employees to move around. This may not be as plausible in an office setting, but you can also consider a different desk or cubicle setup. Rather than cubicles, try to visualize an open floor plan where employees used shared desks or meeting rooms.
Rely less on paper
If your team is constantly printing out papers, they need somewhere to store them, such as a file cabinet — and that takes up space. If your associates are relying less on paper and are instead focusing on digital filing, you no longer need to allocate space for said filing cabinets. This could also result in less of a need for printers. If you have multiple large printers sitting in your office, you could potentially remove a few of them.
These are just a handful of ways you can attempt to maximize your working space. Do what is best for your team and always consider various factors before making any major changes.