With the holiday season quickly approaching, now is a great time to start thinking about your business gift list. Whether you’re shopping for customers, vendors, service providers or employees, gifts are the perfect way to show gratitude for all the support they give to your business throughout the year. Keep the following in mind when selecting gifts this holiday season:

Year Round Use
When choosing gifts, consider items that will keep your business on your customer’s mind year round. A nice notebook to take meeting notes, headphones to listen to music or a desk plant are items that your customer will use every day and remember your thoughtful gesture.

Industry Related
Look for items that relate to what your business does. For example, a pet groomer can give out logoed chew toys or leashes while a brewery can create custom pint glasses or bottle openers as gifts.

Support Local Vendors
Supporting a small, local business is a great way to say thank you while giving back to your community. Pick up homemade treats from a local bakery, desk décor from a local artist or handmade candles from a local boutique.

Holiday Treats
When in doubt, spread some holiday cheer with edible gifts! Logoed mugs with hot chocolate mix, confections in a custom box or candies in your brand’s colors will put a smile on everyone’s face.

Personalized Cards
Keep in mind that some customers are unable to receive gifts due to company policies. Instead of leaving them out, send them a holiday card with a hand written thank you for their support.

Since many custom items take time to manufacture, make your gift decisions well ahead of time to ensure gifts are delivered in a timely manner. For more gift inspiration, take a look at our Holiday Giving Idea Book.

“Dog Friendly Office” is becoming more and more common on the list of benefits companies provide to employees. Animals add a sense of happiness and playfulness to an office and have been shown to defuse stress and improve moral. While many companies are interested in becoming pet friendly, creating a work environment that is accommodating to dogs and while still remaining productive can take a lot of planning. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Survey Your Space
Before you make the announcement that everyone can bring their dog to work, make sure that your space accommodates your new furry co-workers. You will need an outdoor space that is easily accessible for bathroom breaks throughout the day. A large common area with dog gates or offices where dogs can be contained will also help to keep distractions to a minimum.

Get Everyone On Board
If you are leasing a space, get approval from your landlord before inviting dogs into the building. You should also make sure all of the staff is okay with dogs being in the office and make accommodations for anyone who is uncomfortable around or allergic to dogs.

Establish a Pet Policy
Take the time to collaborate with your team on pet policies to implement in the office. Establishing rules with keep everyone happy and safe in the office. This should include pet health requirements, designated dog areas, clean up policies and grounds for banning certain pets.

Stock Your Office with Supplies
While employees should be expected to bring their own pet supplies, keeping some essentials on hand will be helpful. Have water bowls, waste pickup bags and extra leashes available for pet owners. You should also stock up on lint rollers, carpet cleaner and air fresheners to keep the office fresh and clean.

While setting up a dog-friendly office has some initial challenges, your dog-loving employees will thank you and it may even help to attract new talent. Once your dog-friendly office policy is in place, make sure to order some treats to welcome your new furry co-workers!

More and more businesses are providing divided containers for trash, recycling and compost in their breakrooms and common areas. These bins help to divert waste from the landfill and get recyclable or compostable items to the proper facilities. This system only works if employees understand which materials go in each bin though so providing education and detailed signage will help to make the initiative successful.  So what goes into each bin?

Compost
• All food waste
• Paper plates
• Paper cups
• Napkins/paper towel
• Compostable products

Recycle
• Aluminum
• Glass
• Plastics
• Paper
• Cardboard

Landfill
• Chip bags
• Foil wrappers
• Non-recyclable plastics (products without a recycling symbol)
• Food service gloves
• Styrofoam
• Rubber

Keeney’s has a full line of compostable products available for your breakroom as well as bins for sorting. Contact our team today for help getting you office operating more sustainably.

The breakroom is a place when your employees can re-charge throughout the day. Even if they don’t spend a significant amount of time in that room, stocking the breakroom with snacks for your employees is one way you can empower their healthy eating decisions during the workday. Help employees to make nutritious choices by making the following readily available in your office:

Healthy Snacks
While buying a bunch of chips and cookies might be a fun treat, fueling your body with junk food is not a healthy alternative when you don’t have time to grab lunch. Stock your breakroom with healthy packaged snacks like nuts, granola bars or oatmeal to combat the midafternoon slump.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
Making fresh fruits and vegetables readily available will help employees to make healthy snacking choices throughout the day. Keeney’s uses local, woman-owned business, Third Leaf NW, to have apples, carrots and hummus delivered to our breakroom each week.

Water Station
Hydrating with water should be the easy choice at work. Be sure to have a water cooler that works and cups or water bottles on hand for the team to use. You could also invest in an ice maker or flavor packets to make water a more appealing choice.

By providing employees with healthy snack choices, you help them to make positive choices and show you care about their well-being. Contact the Keeney’s team today for more ideas on creating a healthy breakroom at your office today!

With new legal requirements and company cultures that are becoming more accommodating to working mothers, wellness rooms are becoming a standard in offices across the country. With the growing popularity of open office plans and cubicles instead of private offices, creating a private space is essential to help new mothers feel happy and supported as they transition back into the workplace. As you plan your wellness room, ensure it includes the following features:

• Comfortable chair
• Table or countertop
• Electrical outlets
• Locking door to ensure privacy
• Fridge to store bottles
• Sink or cleaning wipes
• Blinds on windows for privacy

Creating a comfortable, relaxing wellness room for new mothers will welcome them back from maternity leave and help them adjust into their new role as a working mother. In addition to providing a private place for new mothers to pump during the workday, these rooms can also be available to other staff who have other medical needs. Contact the Keeney’s furniture team to start designing your office’s new wellness room today!

As cold and flu season approaches, businesses should start taking preventative measures to keep their team healthy and office spaces clean. Sickness can wreak havoc on a company, resulting loss of employee productivity and loss of revenue. Providing resources and a clean environment can help employees’ wellness and keep your business running smoothly. Below are a few tips for keeping your office healthy during the flu season:

• Encourage employees to get a flu vaccine shot if they are able. Setting up a flu shot clinic at your office makes it easy and convenient for employees and their families to get shots.
• Make it easy for employees help keep the office germ free. Stock your office with hand-sanitizing gels, facial tissues, disinfecting wipes for workspaces and disinfectant sprays for common areas.
• Be accommodating to ill employees to prevent their sickness from spreading. Despite the common concern many workers have of falling behind when not in the office, it is important to give employees a chance to get healthy. Let your team members know you’d rather have them miss a day or two than make the entire office sick. Consider finding ways that employees can do some of their work from home, if appropriate.
• Discuss a flu prevention plan with your office cleaners to help keep the office disinfected. Ask the staff to wipe down surfaces, office machine and door knobs with sanitizing wipes to prevent germs from spreading.

While cold and flu season is inevitable, there are many steps you can make to help your team avoid the spreading of germs. Keep your office healthy this winter by stocking up on disinfecting products and educating your team on healthy office practices.

Schools are an important part of every community so partnering with elementary schools, high schools or colleges is a great way to give back to your local area. While businesses can provide funding, supplies and industry expertise, schools are able to offer future workers and brand awareness, making the partnership a win-win. Below are a few simple ways to support your local schools.

Give Supplies or Monetary Donations
Depending on the type of business you are, your company may be able to provide your local school with supplies or services at a free or discounted rate. For example, Keeney’s partners with a local elementary school to provide presentation materials for their science fair. If that type of donation isn’t a fit, you can sponsor a a table at a fundraising event or provide the school with a monetary donation.

Showcase Projects or Lend Expertise
Another way to partner with a local school is to help students present their work outside the classroom. If your business is open to the public, collaborate with a local art class to showcase students’ pieces. You can also work with a local school to help students learn how a real business operates. For example, Keeney’s works with a local college to help students develop business plans.

Provide Internships
Another great way to help educate students about possible career paths is to offer internships with local colleges. Internships provide students with real life experience for their resume and help to teach them a specialized set of skills. Companies frequently hire former interns since they have more industry specific experience than the competition and have proved their abilities. These relationships are a win-win for both the students and employers.

Businesses and schools have a lot to offer one another. Whether companies want to donate some much-needed school supplies or provide firsthand experience to students, these relationships help strengthen the ties between communities and the businesses that serve them. If your school would like to partner with Keeney’s during the upcoming school year, please reach out to our team to start the discussion on how we can work together.

*Pictured: OFS Applause, Genus and Layer

In the past, game rooms have always been associated with tech companies and startups but the trend is now growing in popularity among other businesses. These areas create a place to have fun with your team, grow a sense of community and help employees recharge during breaks. If your company is planning to put a game room into your office, think about how your team will use the space and how it will fit in with the rest of the office’s design.

Furniture Pieces
Since game room are intended to build relationships between employees, creating an area with lounge seating will help to include team members not playing games. Comfortable couches, coffee tables and moveable ottomans will help to form a fun place to socialize. In addition, mix in tables with bench seating for board games and other team activities. Games to consider include ping pong, foosball, pool and shuffleboard.

Noise Considerations
In addition to the pieces you plan to include in the rooms, the acoustics are another thing to look into. Between talking, cheering and digital sound effects, a game room can get quite noisy. Consider the surrounding rooms to ensure that work and meetings are not disrupted by the sound. Adding acoustic wall panels, plush seating and rugs will help absorb the noise.

Usage Guidelines
Game rooms are a great way to help your team bond but you may want to set guidelines for usage. While your main concern may be that you don’t want employees playing ping pong all day, formalizing appropriate times will also encourage employees to get together during breaks or team meetings.

Although game rooms may seem like a trend, these spaces are a great way to build team camaraderie, re-energize employees and can help to recruit top talent. For help designing an area for your employees to hang out together, contact the furniture specialists at Keeney’s today!

*Pictured: OFS Shuffleboard

Although we are in a digital era, printing continues to play an important role in a company’s branding and marketing efforts. Like any marketing collateral that has your business name on it, you want to ensure that it portrays a positive representation of your brand. By using a professional printing service, you can ensure that your company comes across as polished and professional to your customers. In addition to appearance, there are some further benefits of outsourcing your printing:

Quality Pieces
With a variety of paper weights and finishes, professionally printed letterhead, flyers or business cards have a high-quality appearance. The printers used in professional facilities are also higher quality so the printed colors will appear rich and crisp.

Professional Finishes
Print companies have many more tools and machines than your standard office so you will have more finish options than printing on a desktop printer. From “print-to-edge” flyers, to laminate finish to bound booklets, to unique shapes or sizes, professional printing companies have the resources to produce the look you envision.

Design Guidance
A professional printer can help to determine the right paper for your products. You can also get suggestions for logo placement, font size and overall design if you are designing a piece from scratch.

Cut Down on Expenses
While outsourcing your print work may seem expensive, it might save you money in the long run. When calculating the costs, factor in how much printer ink you would be using, the cost of the paper or envelopes for the project and the time staff would dedicate to completing the print job. In addition, consider that it may take a few times to correctly setup the job and reprint pieces if necessary.

For help creating new letterhead, brochures, business cards or booklets, contact the Keeney’s team today! Together, we can create printed materials that make a great first impression with potential customers.

Open office formats have grown in popularity over the last decade to the increase collaboration, improve communication and promote a more connected team environment. While there are benefits to having an open office space, there is more to it than getting rid of private offices and removing the cubicle walls. Below are a few tips for businesses that are getting ready to transition to an open office.

Define Goals
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing an open office. Different companies have different goals, and it’s essential that you design your office space to meet the needs of your company. If you are looking to encourage certain teams to work together more, it may help to station them near each other in the open office space, naturally encouraging collaboration.

Offer Balance
While an open work area is good for collaboration and communication, but there may also be distractions. A good open office design will provide workers with various areas that allow them to separate themselves from the shared work space to complete tasks that may require a little less noise. To meet the needs of your team and workflow, create designated areas for meals and social time, rooms for making phone calls, and collaboration rooms where smaller groups can get away to work as a team.

Set Rules
Since your team will be sharing a space and have less privacy, it is helpful to establish guidelines within the common area. Discuss how to make the space productive and effective with your team and create a list of things that would be disruptive. Examples include: talking on speaker phone, listening to music or seminars without headphones or eating meals outside of the breakroom.

Transitioning to an open office can take some time to get used to and may require you to make adjustments over time. Look for ways to improve the open office space, and experiment with some new ideas to see if you can make it work better for your organization. The Keeney’s furniture team has expertise in open office space planning and can help to create the perfect office for your team. Contact us today!

Photo: AIS, Oxygen System