A good spring clean is your solution to cluttered and messy office space! While we all do our best to keep our office clean and tidy throughout the year, it can get away on us sometimes. Setting aside some time for your staff to all have a clear out of their clutter and sanitise their working space is good for everyone! It improves hygiene and work efficiency and makes for a generally more pleasant environment.
Here are our best tips for spring cleaning time in your office:
Provide the right supplies
Encouraging staff to keep their work areas clean is only one part of the equation. Making sure that you have sufficient cleaning supplies on-site for everyone to keep their space clean and healthy is important. People shouldn’t be expected to provide their own supplies to clean with at work.
It only has to be a simple range of products and supplies. You should always keep a good stock of:
- Cleaning cloths and/or paper towels
- Spray and wipe for surfaces
- Sanitisers and/or antibacterial wipes
- Specialist cleaners and wipes for cleaning computer screens and equipment
Have these supplies available in all main communal areas, or near everyone’s desks if there is sufficient storage space to do so. You should also make sure that everyone has easy access to rubbish and recycling bins so that waste does not accumulate in and around work areas.
Communicate to staff
Get your staff into the spring cleaning spirit by sending out an informative and helpful email or memo announcement. Let everyone know that it’s time for a cleanup and give helpful tips on how to get clean and organised.
Make your communications as interesting and motivating as possible. Start by telling them exactly why they should take part in the office spring clean. Many people don’t realise just how unclean their working environment really is – so scare them with some unpleasant office hygiene facts! Tell them about how 80% of infections are spread via contaminated surfaces – like door handles, computer keyboards, and the buttons on the photocopier! Or, how 50% of people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom at work! Once they are confronted with these statistics, they will be more than happy to pitch in and clean their workspace.
You should also include information in your email about the cleaning supplies that you have available, and where to find them. This makes it easy for everyone to access the supplies, making them more likely to actually use them.
Get creative
Some people have a tendency to ignore emails and memos, so make sure they take notice of your spring cleaning messages by getting creative with your communication. There are many communal spaces in an office such as kitchens, bathrooms, break rooms, and corridors. Put up colourful spring cleaning flyers and posters in these areas to catch people’s attention and inspire them to take part.
You could even consider using video content to engage and inspire your workers. You can access free or affordable animation software online, which you could use to create a funny and motivating spring cleaning cartoon! Or you could use images and a bit of humour by using some office cleaning memes in your poster, flyers, and/or emails.
De-clutter
A lot of office and workplace mess is due to clutter. Paperwork, stationery, files, books, folders – we run out of space to put everything and it becomes difficult to work amongst all the ‘stuff’! At spring cleaning time, encourage your employees to file any paperwork they need to keep and securely dispose of anything they no longer need. If people have lockers and drawers on their desks, suggest that they clean these out too so you can make sure all storage space is being used efficiently as possible.
If all of your staff have a good clear out but they are still struggling with clutter, you may need to invest in a few more cabinets or sets of drawers to make sure there is enough storage space for everybody.
Get competitive
Nothing gets people going like a bit of healthy competition. If there is a prize on offer, such as a free team morning tea or a coffee shout, you will have everybody participating in a cleaning blitz in no time! You could even hold a competition to see who can design the best office cleaning poster or flyer to be used in your spring cleaning campaign.
Ask the professionals to help
A thorough office clean is a big job. If you would like some help with the more heavy-duty tasks such as carpet cleaning, window cleaning, or floor polishing, get in touch with Crewcare today. We can also help with regular office cleans – including everything from vacuuming and sanitisation to rubbish and recycling disposal. For a tailored, professional, and reliable service, contact us today!