South Florida Commercial Trend: Going Green

Green commercial building is something thatbs catching throughout the country b no surprise considering the fact that more businesses are becoming more aware of the impact that they have on the environment. Green construction is especially prominent in South Florida, where Miami is one of the top cities for green commercial buildings.

According to a recent study conducted by Maastrict University in conjunction with the CBRE Group, Miami ranked ninth in the country for green commercial construction, with an impressive 19.4 percent of its commercial real estate having been certified as green. There are a total of 79 buildings in Miami with a total of 21 million square feet of office space that have either been approved by Energy Star or have received U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification.

Miami has fully committed to green construction, as evidenced by its municipal code, which requires all new private development consisting of more than 50,000 square feed to achieve a LEED silver certification.

As a South Florida business looking for new office space, be sure to look for buildings certified as being green. For more information about office space in the area, be sure to contact us at Morris Southeast today.

Focus on Making Your Company a Happy Environment

One of the most important factors in maintaining a productive office space is creating a happy environment. A happy environment makes for happy employees, which will keep production up. The following are a few tipsB to help make the office environment a happier place:

• Show support b Be supportive to your employees by taking an interest in their personal lives. Make them aware that you are flexible when it comes to their needs and that you are truly supportive.

• Provide flexible hours b Many jobs can be completed during varying hours due to the advancement of so much office technology. If an employee asks for different hours, consider granting their request b it could help to increase their productivity.
• Offer praise and rewards b People like to be praised when they do a good job. If you recognize your employees for their achievements, they are more likely to strive to continue doing a great job. By offering rewards for meeting certain goals, you can make employees happier about their accomplishments as well as increase productivity.

For assistance creating a happier work envriontment and for designing your office in South Florida, be sure to contact us at Morris Southeast today.

Don't Waste Your Office Resources

When it comes to running an office, you want to keep the costs of operations down as much as possible. In order to do this, itbs important that you donbt waste your office resources. The following are a few common ways resources are often wasted around the office:

• Over-processing b Sometimes printing reports or documents to hand out to employees is a waste of time and paper, especially if it’s something that could simply be read on a computer screen.

• Too much waiting b One of the biggest waste of resources is waiting b whether itbs waiting for a computer to start up, waiting for specific information to come your way, or waiting for a meeting to start.
• Too much inventory b Keeping too much stock — from out of date pamphlets to equipment that is never used — is not only a waste of resources, but it also makes it more time-consuming to find what youbre looking for.

Avoiding wasting resources around the office can greatly decrease your costs of operation. For more information about keeping cost down and where to move into new offices, please contact us at Morris Southeast today.

Make Your Office as Stress Free as Possible

Making sure that the employees of your South Florida business are as productive as possible is an important part of your companybs success. One of the biggest things that can deter productivity is stress. Stress causes dips in productivity and can even lead to sickness, which translates to more sick days. The following are ways you can prevent stress:

• Donbt overwork your employees b If you notice that their workload is causing them to work extra hours, then maybe you need to dial it back a little. The more they work, the more stressed they will become.

• Communicate b Encourage open lines of communication with your employees. Keep track of their deadlines and provide assistance when they need it. Having a good relationship with your employees goes a long way in reducing stress.
• Office setup b Make sure the office contributes to a stress-free environment by having a relaxing common area, making sure therebs plenty of natural light, placing plants throughout the office, and more.

Use these tips to help reduce the stress on your employees and improve productivity. If your South Florida business is in need of a new, stress-free office space, then contact us at Morris Southeast today.

Eliminate Unproductive Meetings From Your Business

Nothing wastes more time than holding unproductive meetingsB atB your South Florida business. Not only have you failed to accomplish whatever it was you wanted to accomplish, but youbve wasted valuable work time for everyone in attendance. The following are a few tips to make sure your next meeting is a productive one:

• Keep your meetings short. The shorter they are – maybe 30 minutes at the most – the less work time you lose. Not to mention, you will be forced to focus the meeting in order to finish on time.

• Send out any materials you want to go over prior to the meeting. This way you can spend the meeting actually discussing the materials instead of explaining them.
• Donbt fall into a monologue. Meetings should be about engaging everyone in attendance, not about listening to yourself talk.
• Avoid tangents and stay on topic. If other topics come up, leave them on the table for another time, or discuss them later via email or social media.

Use these tips to make your meetings more productive. If youbre in need of office space, contact us at Morris Southeast today.

Is Your Workplace Infected?

When it comes to your office, the last thing you want is to overwork your employees. In fact, if their workloads are too heavy, they may end up turning into “zombies” due to stress and lack of free time, leading to a drop off in productivity. This helpful infograph will give you some reasons and solutions to a lack of productivity.

Some employees will lie in order to cover up any mistakes or missed deadlines. To combat the issue of missed deadlines, track their projectbs status in real time and be sure to encourage them so that they wonbt feel nervous or stressed about their workload or about coming to you if they’re having difficulties.

Another huge problem is that many workers feel like the office is understaffed, which leads to them doing work after business hours. This will lead to stressed and tired employees, leading to more mistakes or poorly done work. Use resource workload reports and request intake processes to deal with this issue. Donbt forget to reward your employees and give them a break by offering things like free spa passes, but remember that these are temporary fixes. B If you’re having a consistent problem with understaffing, it’s time to examine ways to budget for more employees.

Use some of these solutions to battle a lack of productivity. For additional South Florida business advice, contact us at Morris Southeast Group today.

Get the Best From Your Employees by Understanding Myers-Briggs

Hiring valuable employees and keeping them motivated is a huge part of running a successful South Florida business. However, you may not be getting the best from your employees if you donbt understand how they work and how they can best help you. When it comes to understanding personality type, the Myers-Briggs Indicator (MBTI) can be a huge help in finding the best responsibilities for your employees, helping them and the company thrive.

• Consider making the MBTI optional for employees to take in your office. Itbs a tool that can help them be more productive in their work and more fulfilled in their job as well. It really can benefit you and them.
• Encourage open conversation about personality type in your office, especially during the hiring process. Youbll have much more valuable employees if you truly understand their strengths and perceived strengths and work to employ them.
• Think about adding new tasks to some employeesb responsibilities based on personality type. You may find that some employees have special skills you havenbt been utilizing.

Contact us at Morris Southeast for more information on using Myers-Briggs in your office.

Give Your Office Building the Best Lighting Possible

The lighting in your office is likely mostly taken care of by overhead fixtures and panels. However, the lighting that is standard to most office buildings may not be the best and it could be holding your employees back without you even knowing it. Insufficient lighting can lead to sleepiness and a lack of productivity, so use these tips to make sure your buildingbs lighting is up to date.

• Use lights that can be moved or rotated when installing new ones. That way employees can use the lighting appropriately at their workstation.
• Consider how much glare a light creates on a computer screen in your office environment. Glare greatly increases fatigue and can make it hard for employees to focus and concentrate. Movable task lighting can help to reduce glare at each work station.
• Make sure overhead indirect lighting is very bright. On the lux brightness scale, you should be somewhere between 500 and 1,000, especially when computers and other devices are being used in the room like in most offices.

Contact Morris Southeast for more information and tips on how to make your South Florida business space more functional for employees.

Little Office Upgrades With Big Impact

In addition to the challenges of successfully operating a business, employers have to consider whether their employees’ environment is conductive to productivity. Even a few little changes around the office can increase employee productivity and make the workplace a better environment for everybody, including your visiting clients. Use these tips from Morris Southeast.

• Find ways to add natural light to your office. You may not be able to add windows to your space, but allowing natural light to stream in through the windows can create an uplifting feeling in the office.

• Pick a bright paint color for the walls. Youbll need to ask the landlord about painting, but if youbre renting office space, a single coat of a soft bright color likely wonbt be a problem.
• Upgrade the chairs in the office. Having high-quality chairs is something every business should do, especially since chairs get old and worn over time. Upgrade now and your team will be more productive.

Contact Morris Southeast for more information on how office upgrades can improve your South Florida business.

How to Design a Workplace for Employee Health

Your office is supposed to a place that allows employees to work efficiently. However, efficient and happy donbt have to be separate things. If you follow this advice from Morris Southeast, you can design a workplace that keeps your employees happy, healthy and productive all at the same time. Your customers and your employers will thank you!

• Incorporate elements of nature into your space. Open up the windows and curtains when possible and add things like potted plants and flowers to your workspace. Employees will have more energy along and feel more comfortable in their space.

• Use calming colors in your workplace instead of bland or highly saturated hues. Cool colors like lavender or aqua are perfect for a workplace because theybre calming without making employees sleepy. These colors also donbt absorb light.
• Think about providing healthy snacks for employees. Snacks donbt cost much money, and buying things like fresh fruit for employees wonbt break your bottom line. At least make them available for employees to purchase to stay healthy.

Contact Morris Southeast for more information and for help finding the right place for your company when itbs time to move into new offices.