As restrictions on businesses start to loosen, business owners and employees are beginning to face uncertainty when it comes to physically returning to your workplace. There is a lot of preparation to be done, and of course, this preparation is going to be different for each business and organization. There are, however, some commonalities that will be beneficial to list and consider before returning to work.
These commonalities can be broken down into four main topics: Employees, Workplace (Office), Technology, and Customers.
Employees
It’s only natural that most of us are going to have concerns about our health. Here are some points that might ease our minds.
- Create a Return to Work schedule – We touched on this briefly in another article, but some companies and government agencies are implementing a four days on, seven days off work schedule to cut down on the spread of COVID-19.
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate – Have someone dedicated to updating employees with precautions taken to ensure worker safety, such as sanitation. Encourage safety practices, ease sick time restrictions so if an employee has symptoms, they are encouraged to stay home until they can be tested.
Workplace
- Have a plan for how visitors are brought into your facility.
- Be prepared for another closure in the future.
- Regular cleanings.
- Establish traffic flow patterns to help with social distancing.
Technology
- Conduct a gap analysis. Based on the review of the health crisis, what technology gaps were exposed, and how should they be addressed now and in the future.
- Schedule a free consultation with VNET to review your current technology. Let the VNET Team make suggestions to improve work from home (WFH) setups.
- Conduct a hardware audit to make sure the equipment that left the office is brought back or is at least accounted for.
Customers
- Communicate with your customers to let them know what they can expect from your organization. Perhaps poll them to see how you did during the pandemic so far.
- Lastly, if yours is a business where customers visit, communicate your expectations for following the proper safety guidelines to protect your employees and your customer’s health.
For a more detailed checklist for reopening your workplace, download our “Reopening the Workplace After COVID-19: A Checklist for Businesses” PDF here.
