There’s so much more to a successful company than everyone doing their job, selling product or accomplishing tasks. The best and brightest individuals still need to enjoy coming to work and your clients and visitors of all kinds also need to enjoy time spent in your office. For reasons like these, it’s important to create a pleasant office environment, which is rarely achieved in a completely silent space.
It isn’t a great idea to have an office too loud for anyone to concentrate, carry on a conversation or have any type of important interaction, but having an office with zero sound is awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. Consider some ideas on avoiding silent office syndrome in your workplace.
- Playing Low Volume Music ~ Many would agree that it’s nice in any area to just have some type of noise in the background. The perfect volume can be tricky, somewhere in between too loud to work and so hard to hear that it’s pointless and be sure to choose songs or other tracts that are fairly neutral to satisfy the most diverse audiences. There are actually stations that one can subscribe to and DVDs that are specifically meant for this type of service and provide a great mix of various songs and commentary for use in offices, elevators and even taxi cabs.
- Having Promotional Programming Played on Televisions ~ If you’re going to use televisions to fill the area with some random noise, why not play something with a marketing or motivational theme. Better that, than to pay for cable and worry about something inappropriate appearing on the screen or finding your workforce busy watching soap operas.
Consider mini-commercials for your clients to view while waiting or motivational content to keep your workforce in the mindset you find to be the most successful in maintaining a positive office environment. Any media that includes images provides not just sound for your office, but also light and color that can be just as effective at brightening up an area as artwork on the walls.
- Encourage Interaction and Vocal Tasks ~ Without revealing all of your agenda, why not promote your employees to engage in spirited debate, open meetings and bond with clients and customers with great conversation. When an office is too silent, it is often because the employees are intimidated and have somehow concluded that they need to be quiet and keep to themselves in their cubicles. It can be tempting as a supervisor to run a tight ship, but when employees are nervous and uncomfortable, they will likely not perform at their best.
- Practice an Open Door Policy ~ Except for in certain instances of private meetings or discussions, make it a habit to keep doors open, keep cubicle walls low, if necessary at all and create an open floor plan where associates are used to sharing space and ideas. Hearing colleagues voices, the beeping and ringing of phones and the tapping and typing on computers; these are all the sounds of a productive place.
All of these suggestions are about your employees and members of the company, but the most important effect may be on those that enter your space for the first time. We can plan on recruits, appointments and potential clients that we know about. The trick is being prepared for the unexpected visitor that could change your business forever. This may be their only exposure to you and your team. Your office is the face of the company and the first impression. A warm and impressive space includes laughter and camaraderie, while still exuding seriousness and a desire for success at getting things done.
