Office Setup - Self Audit

Try viewing your role from the other side of the desk sometime. Seriously - get up and move, and sit on the other side of your desk. When you get there try asking yourself some of these questions -

• What is the customer seeing?
• What would you change about what you do in your role?
• What things would you consider to be important and need focusing on?
• What things would you see as being not important and could therefore be put aside?
• What does your workspace look like to someone that isn't you?
• Is your workspace inviting? Is it boring or offensive? Does it tell a story about you?
• What will a customer say when they walk away after spending some time on the other side of the desk?

Here are a few tips that I use in my office -

• Have chairs for guests to sit in. No one should be made to stand up.
• Have your computer screen off to the side of your workspace so that when someone sits down you can establish a clear communication channel with them.
• If you have a flat desk - keep as little amount of stuff on it as is practically possible or be ready to move it!
• If you have a desk with a frontage - stand up when a customer comes to see you.
• Have plants in your office and on your desk that are easy to care for yet provide something appealing to look at.