Did you know that clutter in the workplace can have a negative effect on you and your team member’s mental health? That is why it is so important to clean and maintain an organized workspace that everyone can thrive in.
With that in mind, keeping your office neat and tidy is hard work. If you don’t have a good office maintenance routine in place, you’ll fall behind rather quickly.
The good news? We can help with your office maintenance or workplace organization!
In this article, we will help you create an office maintenance plan that gets the results that you’re looking for. We’ll also help you create a checklist of various tasks that need to get done, as well as tell you how often those tasks should be completed. Now then, let’s get started on organizing your office space!
Create an Office Maintenance Plan for Your Business
It goes without saying, but to keep your workplace is good condition, you need to have a solid office maintenance plan in place. Simply having an idea of what you need to do, and when you need to do it, isn’t going to be enough to keep your office clean and organized year-round.
A pro tip? Type up your maintenance plan and keep copies of it posted somewhere in the office. Create checklists for what needs to get done and have a place to sign off on when those tasks are completed so you can make sure they get done.
Divide Your Maintenance Plan Into Four Categories
When you’re creating your maintenance plan, you’re going to want to organize each task into four different categories. This will allow you to get better organized, as well as track your tasks better as time progresses.
These four categories are daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks, and quarterly tasks. Everything that you need to do to keep your office looking the way that you want it to should fit into one of these four categories.
Daily Tasks
So, what items do you or someone on your staff need to do every single day? Well, no two businesses are the same, which means what you need to do each day to keep your office in good condition might be different than another business.
With that in mind, here’s a list of a few basic daily tasks that nearly every business will need to complete regardless of their niche:
- Light cleaning of the kitchen
- Light cleaning of all bathrooms
- Sweeping and mopping all floors
- Vacuuming all floors and rugs
- Organizing and decluttering workspaces
- Wiping down all desks and cabinets
- Restocking toiletries in all bathrooms
- Emptying all trash and replacing trash liners
Weekly Tasks
When you’re cleaning your office, some of the bigger tasks only need to get done once a week. To prevent these tasks from being skipped, we suggest that you assign a day of the week for all weekly maintenance tasks to be completed (ie. every Wednesday).
That way you, and everyone on your team are aware that whatever day you choose is the day that all weekly maintenance tasks must get done.
The various tasks that make up a weekly maintenance schedule include:
- Deep cleaning of the kitchen
- Deep cleaning of all bathrooms
- Dusting the entire office
- Cleaning all glass surfaces
- Wiping down all walls and baseboards
Monthly Tasks
While some tasks only need to be done monthly, the list isn’t as long as the daily and weekly tasks list. With that in mind, the items on this list can take some time to complete, which is why scheduling your days correctly is a must.
Again, to ensure that your monthly tasks are completed, we suggest that you assign a day that they are to get done (ie. the first Wednesday of the month). This will help your team follow your maintenance schedule and prevent procrastination.
The maintenance tasks that you need to complete each month are:
- Deep cleaning of tile grout
- Dusting high surfaces
- Vacuuming vents and circular fans
Quarterly Tasks
Finally, you have the list of tasks that need to be completed once during each quarter of the year. Like the monthly tasks, the list is short but filled with tasks that take a few hours to complete, which means you need to make sure that you plan ahead.
The items that should make up your quarterly maintenance task list include:
- Deep cleaning of all upholstery, drapes, and blinds
- Deep cleaning of all carpets and floors
- Shredding of all outdated, sensitive documents
Communicate Your Plan to Your Staff
Once you have your maintenance plan in place, you must communicate your plan clearly to your team. Failure to explain what you expect to be done, and when you expect it to get done by, will prevent you from reaching your goals.
A pro tip? Have maintenance-related meetings weekly. Communicate with your team what you expect, and point out any areas that you notice may need extra attention.
For example, you may notice one week that the floors are especially dirty. While it may not be time to clean the floors yet, as this article states, it’s important to not let them get too dirty and to maintain their seal.
Make Adjustments to Your Plan as Needed
No plan is perfect out of the gate, which means you’re going to have to tweak and adjust your maintenance plan as you go along, making improvements over time.
Listen to your team members. Ask them for their advice on how you could be doing things better and search for helpful tips that you can implement to your plan.
And don’t be afraid to completely start over if your current plan isn’t giving you the results that you had hoped for.
Create an Effective Office Maintenance Plan With This Guide
Well, there you have it! By creating an office maintenance plan and checklist for your business, you’ll have an immaculate workspace before you know it.
Remember, write your office maintenance plan down and make sure your team understands it fully. Don’t be afraid to make workplace organizational changes over time to improve your plan so you can have a workspace that is clean and clutter-free.
