Magnetic glass whiteboards are the Rolls-Royce of glass notice boards, so after investing in one you’ll want to put it to good use. But can the humble office notice board really be the star of your workplace? The short answer: yes! The long answer is in this article right here.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about office notice boards:
- How they can benefit your workplace
- How best to maintain them
- Innovative ideas for how to use them.
Reflect your office culture
A good office culture is the holy grail of workplace management. The right office ‘vibe’ boosts productivity, increases job satisfaction and encourages trust with clients.
The humble notice board might not seem like a key cog in this well-oiled machine, but as a place of collaboration and socialisation your notice board can be one of the best ways to reflect the office culture you strive to have.
- Looking to encourage interpersonal dynamics between team members? Make the board a space for personal touches, such as pet photos or weekend selfies.
- Wanting to put your best foot forward with clients? Your notice board can be a cultivated display of your achievements, successes and testimonials.
They key here is to choose a theme for a notice board - one that best reflects your office culture. If you’re running a laid back workplace, a structured notice board will stick out like a sore thumb.
On the other hand, if you pride yourself on your workplace’s structure, spick and span, then a notice board full of random selfies probably won’t work very well. So, let’s look closer...
Promote the ‘water cooler effect’
The ‘water cooler effect’ is a phenomenon observed in workspaces that have communal areas that encourage informal interpersonal communication. The space around the water cooler is the classic example (hence the name), but these spaces can be anything from the coffee machine to - you guessed it - your notice board.
So what’s so special about the water cooler effect? Studies show that it can increase worker productivity by up to 15%.
How did researchers find this out? A team at MIT used badges embedded with a microphone, radio transceiver, microprocessor and motion sensors to track workers in office environments.
They found that cohesion among employees, or one’s “tribe”, is one of the biggest factors in both job satisfaction and productivity. Cohesion in this case means how connected employees are as an extended group.
And the interactions that drive this cohesion? They happen around a symbolic (or actual) ‘water cooler’.
Essentially, humans are social animals. Our connections with one another are key factors that drive our motivations, productivity and satisfaction. So, when designing your office space, you’d do well to include multiple ‘water coolers’ like a glass notice board.
Providing spaces where employees can engage in informal interactions is not giving them licence to waste time, it is actually a way to encourage higher job satisfaction, and, ultimately, improve your bottom line.
Stay on brand
Branding goes beyond your company logo. A great brand is reflected at every level of the company, from the uniforms of the employees right down to the layout of the office.
Your notice board, no matter the size, should reflect not only your workplace culture but also the brand that informs it. Yep, here’s where we get into aesthetics - the science of looks.
The best thing about using a magnetic glass whiteboard as a notice board is the ease of use, but a close second is the aesthetic.
Glass notice boards blend seamlessly with any office design, so your brand doesn’t get lost in translation. This also means the way you use your notice board has a chance to really shine.
Why is all this important? Consistent brand presentation can raise revenue by up to 23%. Furthermore, your clients will judge your company based on the way your office looks. Presentation matters, even when it comes to your glass notice board.
Steer clear of clutter
A cluttered notice board does no one any good. Key information is lost or buried, new information has nowhere to go, and well, it just looks plain ugly.
If you’re going to set up an office notice board, here are some ways you can keep it from falling into disarray.
Leave some breathing room
In designer-speak a lack of content is called ‘negative space’. It can be a good thing. It’s one of the main tools when it comes to designing a user-friendly layout.
The same principles should govern your notice board. When including something, give it a bit of space on all sides. This will ensure your notices are easy to see and understand.
Stick with one layer
Multiple layers of notes and papers on a notice board not only get unwieldy, but they also increase the cluttered look tenfold.
If you’re particularly bad at remembering to take old notices down, then a magnetic glass whiteboard is a great answer to your problem. When you end up with multiple layers and the magnets stop sticking, you know it’s time for a cleanup.
Assign someone the task of cleaning your notice board
Just as your office kitchen gets a cleaning roster, so too should your notice board. Once a week, someone should go through and take down the out of date notices.
If your notice board is a glass whiteboard, then give the surface a clean as well - it’s quick, easy and will refresh your office for the week ahead.
Direct the eye
This is another design principle. It’s essentially understanding how people will look at your notice board and then designing its layout around that behaviour.
Most of us, for instance, will scan things left to right, top to bottom. It’s a good idea then to put your most pertinent information to the top or left (or both!) edge of your notice board.
The last place we tend to look is the bottom right, so that’s the place to put notices that are permanent but not urgent - such as parking allocation maps, canteen price lists, etc.
Another way you can direct the eye is by using skewed layouts. Our focus naturally follows diagonal lines, so positioning your notices with this in mind ensures information is seen in the right order of importance.
Organise in sections
If your notice board is an eclectic hodge-podge, make it easy to find pertinent information by organising the content into sections.
Using a magnetic glass whiteboard can be handy for this because you can draw the quadrants right onto the surface with a whiteboard marker.
Cool notice board ideas
Office notice boards needn’t be where fun and innovation go to drown among a sea of memos and printouts. Even if your workspace is more structured, there are interesting approaches you can take to the traditional notice board.
Here are some cool ideas that can inform your notice board design.
Today I learned...
Who doesn’t love a good bit of trivia? The ‘TIL’ board is a great way to get people actually looking at your notice board.
Extra points if you have a reward at the end of the week for most obscure factoid.
Polaroid board
Weddings have been using this trick for years because, hey - it’s fun! Here’s how it works:
Title your board and leave a polaroid camera nearby. The idea is to have your employees snapping candid photos of themselves or each other for display.
This works especially well with a magnetic glass whiteboard: simply stick your polaroid to the surface using a rare earth magnet and use a whiteboard marker to write a snappy, silly or funny caption near it. Just remember, you must use super-strong “rare earth” magnets (which are quite common nowadays) because ordinary fridge magnets are too weak.
Beloved pets
If the internet has proven anything it’s been just how much people love looking at cute animals. So, why not roll with it?
Inviting employees to show off pictures of their pets is a great way to get people talking. Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like waxing poetic about their cat? You can bet that your office’s visitors will take a look too.
The portfolio
This one’s especially useful if you frequently give clients tours of your office. Displaying a portfolio of your best work is also a great way to congratulate the employees that worked on those projects. It’s your living showcase.
Voting board
This is another idea that works great with magnetic glass whiteboards. Here’s how it works: write out your options and invite employees to place magnets under each one to signal their vote.
What are they voting on? Anything they like. Perhaps you want to know if your workers like a particular brand of coffee over another. Perhaps you’re choosing the name of the latest fish in the reception area aquarium. The only limitation here is your imagination.
The terrible selfie board
Challenge your employees to take the worst possible selfie and then display the final product on your notice board. Extra points if there’s a weekly winner voted into stardom.
Put your glass notice board to good use
Notice boards needn’t be a memo graveyard. Used well they boost productivity, reflect your brand and encourage interpersonal dynamics.
Now you know everything there is to know about how you can put your magnetic glass notice board to good use. Which ideas are you going to try first?
A magnetic glass whiteboard from JustBoards could be the best notice board you’ve ever used. JustBoards always helps you find the best solutions for your unique needs.
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