For most workplaces, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the source of considerable disruption and changes to working life. Whether your workforce is mainly working from home, on furlough or socially distancing in the office, the impact of COVID-19 has been felt across the board.
With the vaccine currently rolling out across the UK, many employers are turning their attention to the coming months, where a return to the office may be possible.
Here are a few ways you can prepare your business to return to the office.
Flexible Working
Allowing your employees flexibility in their working hours can help to ensure that there are never too many people in the office at one time. This can help to ensure social distancing and allow your employees to work as safely as possible. You could consider introducing staggered working hours to promote this. You could allow your employees to work from home if they wish to, or have a mix of at-home and in-office work.
Hygiene Is Key
A robust office hygiene policy will be critical in the weeks and months after your company’s return to the office. You should ensure that your staff has access to disinfectant and hand sanitiser and that there are visible signs in place to remind them to wash their hands.
Having your offices professionally cleaned will be crucial to ensuring the safety of your staff. You should consider engaging the services of a professional cleaner to come in as often as possible. You could also consider having regular deep cleans, utilising technology like a disinfectant fogger which provides a quick and large scale clean disinfection of your office. Ideal Cleaning is a professional cleaning service that offers fogging machine cleaning to businesses across the UK. You can read more information here.
Enforce Mask Use
While the vaccine rollout provides a light at the end of the tunnel, that doesn’t mean that COVID-19 will be gone overnight. It is crucial that you ensure that your staff members use masks when walking around the office or using communal areas. This can help prevent the risk of an outbreak among your employees once you’re back in the office.
Consider Going Paperless
Going paperless is a great way to reduce the amount of contact your employees will have with shared equipment like printers. It is also a great way to save money, and do your bit for the environment. Where possible, try to send emails rather than letters, and utilise online banking and online forms.
Promote Social Distancing
It would help if you had signage to remind employees of the appropriate distance they should keep around the office. You could also ensure you have enough stationery for your staff to avoid sharing things like pens and staplers. This can do a lot to help reduce the risk of infection.
You could also consider changing your office kitchen layout to prevent the temptation to gather for lunch or coffee breaks. While employee socialisation and downtime is still essential, reducing the risk of COVID-19 should be your top priority.