Equipment Needs For A 6 Employee Office?

**Lee** · 01-11-2009, 11:30 PM

We're in the process of aquiring a small office building which has 4 seperate offices in it, a small 'cubicle' area and also a small conference type room that we are going to need to kit out with equipment.

Obviously PCs and phones are going to be needed along with a printer and fax machine but, what other equipment would you think we should consider adding to the building to make the work environment better for the employees and also make the office more productive overall?

For the conference room we're looking at getting a flatscreen tv/monitor that can be connected to a basic system for use with brainstorming sessions, content previews, site design reviews, etc.

What 'basic' equipment would you folks suggest we should also add to the common sense items like computers, routers, monitors, printers, phones, etc, etc?

This isnt just going to be for our 'porn' based businesses but also for the bulk reo stuff Gary is currently working on along with some of our non-internet based businesses.

Regards,

Lee

**deanb** · 01-12-2009, 03:35 AM

Lots of software, and high quality printers. Get the most bang out of your buck, teach the guys everything they need to know about your business without teaching them the business. Give them perks at their desk, and they won't know what is what.

**CharlieBrown** · 01-12-2009, 08:55 AM

you need 6 of these at least

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...-WAVE2&cat=GDT

**gaybucks_chip** · 01-12-2009, 09:32 AM

I was going to get a plasma flat screen, but I'm also going to be moving in a few months, so instead got a nice little Optoma projector. Turned out to be a great investment. It was about $300 on sale, new, but it's incredibly bright and will project up to a 10' diagonal image, so you might consider that in lieu of a bigassed flat screen. Of course, if you need hi-def, it's a different story... those projectors are still pricey... but for regular DVD resolution you can't beat it.

**Lee** · 01-12-2009, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by gaybucks_chip

I was going to get a plasma flat screen, but I'm also going to be moving in a few months, so instead got a nice little Optoma projector. Turned out to be a great investment. It was about $300 on sale, new, but it's incredibly bright and will project up to a 10' diagonal image, so you might consider that in lieu of a bigassed flat screen. Of course, if you need hi-def, it's a different story... those projectors are still pricey... but for regular DVD resolution you can't beat it.

Interestly enough, Garys realtor office started off with a projector and they actually changed from that to one of those Vizio flat screens, the reason i was told is that the projector quality wasnt all the good and it was actually very limited about what could be displayed on it.

With the flat screen i know they have it hooked up to a desktop pc and they basically take new clients in their now and show them the MLS listings directly on the tv itself.

Regards,

Lee

**chadknowslaw** · 01-12-2009, 12:14 PM

A kitchen and lunchroom was one of the best investments I made in my Iowa office. I installed a stove (not used much) refrigerator (used every day) microwave (used every day) sink (used every day) and a few cabinets with laminate counter top. If you have 6 employees one frig may not be enough -- the 1.7 cubic foot mini-frigs can be placed in employee's work areas and then they have their own so nobody uses "their" ketchup or eats their soup, etc.
The food prep area and lunch room allows employees to eat at the office. This does two things for you as an employer and one for the staff. First, when employees eat at the office they do not return late and generally take shorter lunches. Second, if your employees are eating at the office they are more easily available and can be interrupted. If a client walks in and wants to speak to Jane, she is back in the lunch room and you can get her. If the client walks in and Jane is eating at Fuddruckers a mile away, at best Jane can cut her lunch short, drive back and see the client in 15 minutes. Finally, the staff will be more inclined to bring their own lunches instead of eating out which will save them money and they appreciate the choice.

My staff was mostly women. I made it a point to purchase good toilet paper, usually Charmin. That small effort paid big dividends -- my female employees really appreciated that and it was not a significant marginal cost, even though I think we went through 24 rolls a week.

A good cleaning service is important. Keep the office clean, make sure that you get a service that will come and empty garbage every night (or do it yourself -- I did) so that your staff does not have overflowing waste cans. A clean office definitely makes for happier more productive staff.

Get a shredding service! If you go through lots of paper, and any real estate business will, get a shredding service to handle those documents. Usually you can get a 55 gallon or bigger container emptied bi-weekly for not a lot of dollars and your staff will appreciate you for not making them use personal shredders.

Of course, keep open lines of communication with staff, ask them what you can do to improve the workplace, and honor all the little requests. Little things do make employees happy!

**Squirt** · 01-12-2009, 12:23 PM

A kitchen and water cooler :luke:

**Bec** · 01-12-2009, 02:39 PM

Have a couch as part of the furniture in one of the rooms (not the main seating area). That way if a staff member or a client needs to lie down, you have someplace relatively private to accomodate them.