Spring usually brings visions of spring cleanups- clouds of dust as we empty those closets, purge those files, and in other ways tidy up the recesses of our busy business lives. Well- I for one think spring should be better used- for lazy strolls in the park, hours sitting on the deck gazing at the budding lawn while sipping our favorite beverage, pleasurable hours spent listening to old and new Frank Sinatra records. After all, spring means good weather- sun, warmth, breezes. Why spend it in dusty old attics, closets, filing cabinets? I’m here to promote nasty ole March/April as cleanup months. Its snowing, cold, dark and dank. That’s the time to spend in unpleasant tasks.

As a business looking to clean up and clean out, where do we start and when do we know it has ended? Starting is as easy as discarding that pile of magazines which has been sitting on the corner of your desk for 8 months gathering dust. It can also be as complex as hiring a professional organizer. Ending the clean up comes when you have plenty of room to start collecting the next generation of paper and junk.

Seriously, March/April Cleanup for a small business should bring a review of things like:

• Personnel records. Do you have a file for each employee and independent contractor? It should contain the employment application, resume, original terms of hire, periodic evaluations. What is should not contain is the employee’s W-4 withholding form- that shows the employee’s marital status and since employers are not allowed to make employment decisions based on marital status, it is recommended that W-4 forms be maintained in a separate folder. (The same goes for evidence of age, sex (gender not frequency), nationality, religion- best to blank out the employee’s age if it is contained in the file-don’t want employees to accuse you of making hiring, promotion, compensation decisions based on those factors). Make sure the file is current with salary and bonus information.
  Insurance.
• Take this opportunity to review the company’s insurance policies: building, pesonalty including computers, liability, umbrellas, fidelity, medical, disability, life etc. etc. etc. Do you have a comprehensive list somewhere with expiration dates, contact information?
• Emergency/disaster preparedness. If you don’t have a comprehensive plan, do you at least have an emergency contact list? Boss’,Employees’ home numbers, cell phones, fire department, police, alarm company, plumber, electrician, exterminator, insurance agent, attorney, accountant, glass company, locksmith, code to the building security system, etc.
  As you’re going through all these files, get rid of duplicate copies. Where
  possible, reduce paper to disc.
• Invest in some new file cabinets for the paper you just can’t part with-update that organization system and insist that your assistants (and you) stick to it. Go through the existing file cabinets and purge documents no longer needed for business. Even the IRS doesn’t mandate you keep its paper forever.
  Bring the magazines, newspapers, junk mail home (if you can’t bring yourself to immediately discard it) and use it as bathroom reading material.
• Take an hour when you first arrive in the morning to return phone calls, sift through and return e mails.

Remember what you can’t discard, donate. If you can’t discard nor donate, let someone else in your office do it while you’re out to lunch. And above all, when doing your March/April business cleaning- clean it up and clean it out, before May’s flowers start blooming. As a successful business person you are entitled to enjoy those wonderful spring days, secure in the knowledge you’ve already finished your spring cleaning.