Winterizing Your Office Is Good For Business

There’s no denying that winter is the most wonderful time of year, but that is only made possible by the fact we know how to prepare ourselves for the change in lifestyle. You know what we mean because, just like us, you no doubt start winterizing your home the moment you see a leaf turn slightly gold. You want your home to be that warm, welcoming and safe haven to combat the outside world.

This begs the question, “why aren’t you doing the same to your business?”

Not only do you spend eight hours a day in your place of work, so do your employees, the people that you are responsible for and the people that make your business a success. Their morale needs to be kept high and a huge part of that stems from the environment they work in. Of course, it isn’t just about keeping spirits high and production booming, it is also about safety.

With that in mind, we have pulled together a list of ways you need to winterize your business. Yes, we may be getting close to Christmas – and that means all your employees will be going home for a few days – but wouldn’t it be incredible if everyone came back to an office that no longer housed a draft and they were able to start the new year in the best way possible?

1. Take Stock Now

Now is the time to wrap up warm and do a visual inspection of your office building. Okay, the truth is, you should have done this a month ago, while it was still fall, but better late than never. The kind of things you are looking for are cracks in the walls, gaps in your windows and doors, any structural weaknesses that make your heart stop for a moment or two and anywhere that may need a bit of caulk and weatherstripping. Not only will a cold workplace see productivity slump like a melting snowman and your employees start turning up to work begrudgingly, you will also find your heating bills start to skyrocket. None of this is good for your bottom line.

2. You Need True Grit

It isn’t just the building itself that you need to focus your attention on, it is the grounds around your buildings. You need to make sure this are safe for both your employees and any customers popping in and a simple way to achieve this is by investing in half a dozen bags of grit and making sure the grounds get a good sprinkling each night and morning. This isn’t just an obligation you have to people that visit your premises, it is something that could see you caught up in a personal injury claim, as a top law firm told us recently – just go to their website if you don’t believe us. So, go and get some grit, install a weather alert on your phone and make this precaution a part of your winter preparations from this day forward. After all, you can never be too careful.

3. A Bit Of Pipe Prep

The problem with this time of the year is how cold it gets. It’s freezing, which is bad news for the water in your pipes because when water freezes it expands and that build up of pressure could see a pipe burst. To reduce the risk of this happening, you should waste absolutely no time in insulating any external pipes, pipes running along walls and pipes that are in poorly heated parts of your property. Don’t just do yours either; speak to any other business in your block and encourage them to do the same so that you don’t find yourself being subjected to a flood from above. Of course, you may be thinking this is an absolute chore that you don’t have time for, but it can be done in a matter of minutes if you go and buy pre-slit polyethene insulation. The other thing you should do is drain any external pipes, insulate them and then wrap the spigots up nice and warm. These are the most susceptible to the winter weather so please don’t ignore them.

4. Nothing Beats A Backup

Always have your HVAC system inspected by a professional and always fork out what you have to in order to bring your system up to almost new standard. However, it would be foolish to then presume nothing can go wrong, which is why you should also invest in backup sources of heat, such as convector heaters and electric heaters. Should your HVAC system pack-up for whatever reason, you will want to ensure your working environment is still as comfortable as possible. If you really want to keep spirits high, then why not invest in some of these ridiculous (and yet ridiculously helpful) products that will make your employees smile their way through the temporary disaster you are faced with.

5. Drive Up Your Efforts

More and more businesses have their own vehicles. It could be that part of your business is conducted on the road, or you could have just down the modern thing of having pool cars that employees can use should they have to attend a client meeting off-site. Either way, you need to ensure this part of your business is winterized too. The more you do, the better. But at the very least, you should always make sure there is some sort of deicing fluid either in the car or mixed into the windscreen fluid. You should also add scrapers to each car, as well as a flashlight and blankets. The most important thing to do, however, is making sure your employees fill the fuel tank right the way up after each use. Why? Because condensation in a fuel tank can spell big problems for an engine. As such, create a culture where a) the fuel gets filled up and b) no one lets it drop below halfway. You really don’t want the expense of having to repair a motor that has had condensation inflicted on it.