office

5 Considerations To Make Before Selecting Your Virtual Office Provider

Angela Manning Business , ,
5 Considerations To Make Before Selecting Your Virtual Office Provider

As the virtual office industry kicks into high gear, the number of providers offering business solutions has drastically increased. Offering an array of amenities, these businesses have fitted out start-ups and small businesses, as the virtual office suite works ideally for businesses with teams numbering less than ten. In Malaysia, the virtual office has done wonders in opening up doors for smaller businesses who might not be able to access buildings in the CBD.

At its best, the virtual office is like an office offering both an on-site and online landscape in which to work. When searching for virtual offices – Servcorp, for example – can give your business the benefit of managing your office on and offline. Most basic plans, however, will give businesses an address, a dedicated phone number, and an internet connection.  Not all virtual office suites are the same, and when looking for a virtual office, businesses should pay attention to a few factors.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the considerations businesses should make when looking  to register company in Malaysia or set up a virtual office there.

Multiple Locations

Larger serviced office providers have locations in other parts of the country or city. If the provider is an international company, then you have the chance to work in locations around the world if there is an office. Most international leases will offer your business the chance to reserve space on an as-needed basis. Servcorp actually provides its renters with vouchers that allow them to reserve space around the world. For professionals who travel a lot, the international service provider can fit out their business with access to meeting rooms in international locations.

On-Site Facilities

Another important feature that businesses should pay attention to is whether the serviced office can provide your business with access to on-site facilities. While the online landscape is taking over brick-and-mortar offices, there is still a need for the conventional office. Face-to-face presentations go off without a hitch when professionals are in the same room, and if it is in impossible for people to meet, the online landscape and some facilities offer video-conferencing abilities. In the end, the price might increase with this feature, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Office Scalability

Another consideration businesses should make is whether your business can transition into another workspace easily. Larger serviced office providers will have a menu of workspace options that will make it easy for businesses to move from the virtual office to other office types. Typically, businesses want to consider leasing companies that can move your office into fully-furnished spaces quickly and with little downtime.

Business Registration

Both foreign businesses and Malaysian professionals benefit from a virtual office suite that can assist you with the details of registering your business in the country. This feature can help alleviate many of the obstacles related to setting up your business in the country. While not the most important part of the virtual office, it can help you get your business ready sooner than if going it alone.

Costs Versus Value

With the proliferation of the virtual office, you are going to find all different types of office suites offering a range of amenities. The important thing is to take inventory of your business’s needs and assess the particular amenities you will actually need. Then, shop for the virtual office that will give you the most value for the cost.

Factors To Consider

The virtual office brings structure to the modern remote office. Malaysia businesses just getting off the ground can benefit from this particular workspace that provides all of the tools of modern business without the extra expense. Ultimately, however, the tools that are important will depend on the needs of your venture.

How to Bring Down Costs In The Office

Angela Manning Business , , ,
How to Bring Down Costs In The Office

As any business owner knows, finances in the company are about more than just bringing in more money, it is also about learning how and where money can be saved. Within the office there are many opportunities to save money, the key is being smart and a little bit creative. The office or headquarters is obviously essential in any business so stripping pieces away or changes aspects of it must be done with care, to ensure that the office still operates at the levels that it should.

If you are looking to save some money on office spending, here are some tips to help you out.

Outsourcing

Not every task that is completed inside the office necessarily needs to be managed in-house and through outsourcing you can really cut back on both costs and time. There are many aspects o office life which can be outsourced, IT for example is a burden which you do not have to bear and through outsourcing the management of your computers and software, you can ensure that issues are dealt with quickly and inexpensively. You can also reduce costs with managed print services that will look after every aspect of your printing needs, remotely. This means that when you need new toner or ink, it will be automatically shipped out, an engineer will be out before you even knew the printer had issues and through this service you can be sure that the printing within the office is not something you need to worry about.

Working From Home

We are living in a world whereby the necessity to actual work from the office is far lower than it has ever been. Through smart software, internet use and easier communication, your staff could very well work from home at least 1 day per week. In doing this you can save a great amount of money on electricity, water and gas, money which will really add up over time. The additional benefit of this will be the happiness of your staff and a happy workforce is a productive one.

Digitalize

We are no longer as dependent on paper than we used to be and in digitalizing your office, you can save a great amount of money on paper and supplies. The job is quite time consuming but once all of the office activities are put onto computer rather than paper, you can be sure that the activities in the office will be more streamlined, and the cost of supplies will drop significantly. Another benefit of this is storage space, how many rooms are required to keep all of your documents? Get rid of the paper trail and utilize computers in order to free up that space, speed up the business and cut down on costs.

There are many other ways in which you can also save money in the office, from encouraging staff to be energy conscious to cutting down on company expenses. Get creative and get saving!

How to Make Your Office a Much Greener Place

Angela Manning Business , , , , ,
How to Make Your Office a Much Greener Place

When you are working on creating a more eco-friendly life, it is ideal to extend your efforts to the office. You have spent a lot of time making your home greener, but you can do a variety of things at work to help reduce the entire company’s carbon footprint. Look for inspiration from projects, such as the Cadiz Water Project, and others that are helping to make life more sustainable on a larger scale. Starting with a few basic ideas, however, is sure to make the process relatively simple and smooth.

Check Your Electricity Usage

In an office, you often have bright lights on all day and this can result in dramatic electricity usage. Consider putting smaller lamps at everyone’s desks and whenever it is daytime, take advantage of the natural light. Open all blinds or curtains so the sunlight filters in and shut off the overhead lights. This can result in a significant decrease in electricity usage. It also allows for a more ambient and pleasant environment that might help folks to feel less stress while they work.

Be Mindful of Office Water Usage

Using too much water is one of the biggest factors in an office that is not eco-friendly, but there are methods you can employ to change this. For example, look to do something similar to the Cadiz Water Project, but on a smaller scale. This means you can look for ways to reuse water so that it is renewable in your office environment. For example, get a bucket for the community refrigerator and instead of tossing the leftover water in people’s bottles, put it into the bucket. Once it is full, you can use it for cleaning the office.

Create an Office Recycling Program

Between office supplies and lunch items, you probably accumulate a lot of waste every week. You would be amazed how much less waste you would have if you recycled. This is relatively easy to implement in an office environment. Start with the lunch area and the room where you keep your supplies. Take three small bins and put a set in each of these rooms, with one bin for glass, one for plastic and one for paper. At the end of the week, you just need to quickly bag it up and drop the recycling off at the local center.

Switch to Recycled Products

There are multiple office supplies that you can find that are made from recycled products. These also tend to be relatively inexpensive, so it will not add much to the budget of the company. You can find products, such as refillable ink cartridges, recycled paper and non-toxic highlighters for this purpose. In fact, between non-toxic and recycled items, you should be able to replace most of the items in your office with more eco-friendly ones.

Consider the Office Food Choices

If you do a lot of potlucks and similar events in the office, be careful about the foods you choose. Look for produce that was grown sustainably and reduce how much meat is served. You should also avoid serving it on products, such as paper plates, and opt for those that can be washed and reused instead for a greener environment.

Switch to Cleaning Products That Are Non-Toxic

Most of the cleaning products used in the office environment are incredibly harsh and this can have a major impact on how eco-friendly everything is. There are products that you can switch to that do not contain any harsh chemicals. They allow you to fully clean your office without the risk of harsh fumes or degrading any of the surfaces. You might also consider basic items, such as white vinegar and baking soda, since these are non-toxic and can be used to clean an array of surfaces.

Work on an Office Carpool

One of the biggest ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to reduce your reliance on your vehicle. Since driving to work is likely something you cannot skip, if you share a ride with your coworkers, you are decreasing how many cars are on the road during your commute. You can switch off who drives each week, so that factors, such as vehicle wear and tear and fuel, are evenly split between everyone who joins the carpool.

You might also talk to the boss about creating telecommuting opportunities if this is possible. This means that people can spend one or more days a week working from home to avoid having to drive their vehicle at all.

You can see that it is not too harder to make your office much greener for yourself and everyone else. Once you start implementing changes, it will not be too hard to get your coworkers to join in. Just start small so that the process is not too overwhelming for yourself and everyone else that wants to lend their help and support.

How to Change a Toxic Work Culture

Angela Manning Business , , , ,
How to Change a Toxic Work Culture

With the announcement that Travis Kalanick would be stepping down as the CEO of Uber, it has a lot of people once again considering toxic work cultures and the negative impact this can have on the entire organization.

Silicon Valley has been a good example of how a toxic culture can negatively impact even the most successful and promising of companies, with rumors and reports of everything from sexual harassment to discrimination floating around about Uber and other tech companies.

While there are third-party companies like SIT that develop ways to shift company culture, for example, towards more innovation, what do you do when you’re dealing with a toxic work culture? This is a situation that might also require outside help, but in general, the following are some useful tips to make a shift when necessary.

Conduct Exit Interviews

One of the big mistakes too many companies make is that they don’t conduct exit interviews. Conducting exit interviews aren’t in and of themselves going to solve problems with corporate culture, but they’re going to be one of the best ways to get a handle on the truth of what’s happening, and where potential problems exist.

It’s important to do exit interviews with both people who leave willingly for whatever reason and fired individuals.

These can also serve as a baseline measurements when you put other mechanisms of change in place, to see how you’re doing.

Cultivate Transparency

When people feel like they’re working in a negative environment, they also tend to be less productive, and that impacts the bottom line of the company.

One of the biggest reasons negativity develops and takes hold in a culture is a lack of transparency. When employees feel like everything is happening behind closed doors, that then leads to a sense that there is secrecy, which breeds gossip and animosity.

Just by being honest, upfront and transparent with employees, it can go a long way in remedying some of the toxic elements negatively impacting the organization.

Be Careful with Competition

There’s an idea that successful companies have competitive and often cutthroat employees, but this is what can foster bullying and problems in the workplace. Some competition isn’t a problem, but when it goes too far, that’s when cultures become toxic.

You need employees who strive to succeed but also who can get along with one another.

It’s important to encourage strong company values that emphasize teamwork, and when hiring, try to think about fit as much as qualifications.

Start At the Top

Finally, as is being seen with the Uber situation, sometimes changing a toxic culture requires looking at the top to see where problems exist.

Company leaders ultimately own the culture of their organization, so if you can see that your leaders or even you are fostering competition to the point that it’s negative, encouraging a sense of bullying, or do everything behind a curtain of secrecy, it’s time to make changes.

You can’t expect employees to embrace the changes necessary to eliminate a toxic culture if company leaders aren’t willing to take their own steps.