There is probably no person in our country who did not feel any effect of coronavirus pandemic. Those companies that can send their employees to remotely work from home, did it. Those companies that do not have such a possibility, just put their work on pause. And we all waiting when everything will bring back to normal.
So let’s see how the process of returning to normal life should look like and what business owners should do to prepare their companies to reopen.
Health and Safety Measures That Need to be Done
Assess and Reduce the Risk
Such an assessment will provide you with a full list of inconsistencies between the current state of your office or workplace and health instruction provided in guidance from the government. For example, if you noticed that the distance between the working desks of your employees is less than 2 meters, it will be required to move them, even if a new layout of the whole floor will be needed.
Communication with Employees
Your employees need to be informed about what exactly happening with the company because in such a way you will calm their worries and nerves regarding their employment and they will feel like a part of the process. It will be wise to send them communication letters with new protocols, guidelines, policies, and other important information regarding their future working conditions, such as staggered hours, shorter shifts, and their effect on their employment contract.
Flexibility in Working Conditions During Pandemic
Since we all face the pandemic of COVID-19, you as a business owner need to make decisions on:
- What staff of your company has the possibility to work remotely and what staff needs to work from the office or workplace;
- Staggered hours and shorter shifts for those of employees who need to work from the office or workplace;
- How to encourage employees who need to work from the office or workplace to use masks, gloves, and other protection. as well as avoid public transport if possible.
Thorough Assessment of Office or Workplace Premises
Entry and Exit
Here are the major points that need to be considered regarding access to your company’s office or workplace:
- All of the entries need to be equipped with hygiene facilities;
- The number of people in the elevator needs to be limited;
- In order to avoid touching of door handles, doors need to be left open or swing doors need to be installed;
- Even a one-way system of moving around the office or workplace may be implemented.
General Areas
The major points that need to be considered regarding using general areas of your company’s office or workplace are all about keeping physical distancing:
- Working desks need to be placed in a distance not less than 2 meters from each other;
- The number of people who can use public areas, such as kitchen, toilets, and others, at the same time needs to be limited;
- In case your office or workplace includes such facilities as a cafe or gym, hold out on reopening them.
Meetings
The major points that need to be considered regarding meetings are also about keeping physical distancing:
- If it is possible, avoid meetings, especially if it holds in small rooms;
- In case you cannot avoid meeting, you need to choose one of the following options:
- Hold a video conference;
- Hold a meeting in a big enough room to allow for physical distancing;
- If you have a need to hold a meeting with your customers, please do the following:
- Hold a meeting in your office or workplace;
- Make sure that your customers follow all of the health and safety rules implemented in your company.
Personal Hygiene
To provide yourself and all of your employees with safety environment it is required to follow personal hygiene rules, such as the following:
- Make sure that all of the employees have access to use hygiene facilities, such as:
- Sanitizer for hands;
- Antibacterial wipes for phones and keyboards;
- Make sure that deep cleans of the office or workplace are performing with enough regularity.
Do Not Forget to Perform Assessment Again
It is crucial to keep performing the assessment of the situation on a regular basis once your company is reopened and your employees returned to the office or workplace. You need to track what rules and policies are working and being adhered to, and what needs to be improved. The situation with coronavirus pandemic is changing continuously, so it is impossible to predict will the period of lockdown end this time, or we will re-enter it later again.
To make sure that your office or workplace in Illinois is ready and safe for returning your company’s employees, contact Signature Water and Fire Restoration and our certified specialists will perform thorough cleaning and disinfection of your premises. In the case of the virus pandemic, it will be more than wise to hire professionals with respective knowledge and experience. Our technicians use the best technique and equipment only to provide you with the best services. Here is our 24/7 phone number: 1-224-515-0100.