2020 has thrown up some challenges few businesses would have predicted. With many people still working from home, many businesses are asking how they can start to get employees back to work, so here are a few ideas.
Show Empathy for Employees’ Concerns
We’ve been dealing with COVID-19 for the best part of a year now, and there’s still a lot we don’t know. While governments and businesses do their best to ensure a safe environment, there will be employees with legitimate concerns.
Getting people back to work on a large scale involves listening to these concerns and finding ways of acting on them. It’s a tricky situation and one that’s unprecedented in recent times, so a level of empathy is required from businesses.
Perform a Safety Audit
It’s always a good idea to identify your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to safety, and obviously, with COVID, there are extra aspects to consider. Returning to work safely means extra safety measures are going to have to be taken, and the best way to go about it is logically.
When you perform a safety audit, it helps you get a clear picture of where your business is at in terms of safety, giving you a good platform from which to implement change.
Ramp Up the Cleaning Routine
It’s more important than ever to keep offices and shared spaces clean, so make sure you’re getting the right COVID-19 cleaning company on the job.
A clean office space is essential to a good office environment at any time, but with fears over COVID, it’s necessary to take extra steps in this area. The right cleaning procedures can help reduce the spread of the virus, so it’s an important step in getting people back to work.
Take Visible Steps
Sometimes it’s not just about the steps you take, but it’s also about people seeing the actions you’re taking. That’s one reason why steps such as introducing a temperature scanner at the entry point to your buildings can be so useful.
Asides from providing a good first line of defence against the virus, it’s a visible demonstration that you’re taking things seriously and working to protect people.
The more visible steps you can take to show people that their safety is important, the more comfortable they’re going to feel. If you’re going to get the buy-in of your staff, then these extra steps can make all the difference.
Communicate Your Protocols
It’s one thing to put protocols in place, but it’s another thing to ensure people are following them. If you’re not communicating your new measures with your staff and the public, then how can you expect them to follow it?
Like so many problems in business, communication is one of the key ways we can overcome it. Once you have got your safety protocols in place, then it’s time to think about how you can best communicate them so that they will be followed.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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