Love it or hate it (who on earth could love it?) Covid is going to be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future, at least in one way, shape, or form…or increasing, ‘another’, and we have no idea it seems of what the another could look like. Just as it seems we’re over one wave, another comes cruising along.
Still, life has to go on and return to some version of normality, and for many businesses and companies alike that means – returning to the office. While many are choosing to continue with flexible working hours, locations, and shifts, for many businesses it turns out that having as many of your people in one workspace as possible, is still the better business model for that sector or industry. Even if just part-time.
That means if you’re reopening your office after a period away, there are a few things that you need to do before you can welcome your worker bees back to their posts.
#1 CHECK THE COVID REGULATIONS & SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR YOUR STATE & CITY
No one wins any prizes for guessing that the number one entry on the checklist is Covid related, so let’s get to it. You have to ensure that your office is as Covid prepared as possible, and in line with any local regulations that might exist in your state, city, or town. So check in with your local authorities and see if there are any special rules or audits that apply to you.
Besides being the legal thing to do, it is also the right thing to do. Your workers want to know that you take their safety seriously, so don’t drop the ball. Some good advice from the CDC, here.
#2 WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY
Depending on how long you’ve not been at your office or if you’ve only been using your office on certain days and times, you may well need to redo your workplace health & safety audits, checklists, and reports. You take your family’s safety at home very seriously – you, must, must, must take your workers’ safety at work seriously too, and this will probably overlap in several areas with your Covid checks, so you may well be able to kill a couple of birds with one stone.
#3 DEEP CLEANING
You will need to have your office spaces deep cleaned, and for this, you’ll need to bring in the big guns, this includes getting in Pest Control to check the status of your current measures and perhaps to remove any unwanted guests that have taken up residence in the meantime.
#4 AND FINALLY…
…you want your staff to return to work on a high, so maybe don’t overwhelm everyone the first day with absolutely everything that must be done before the end of the week or month. Give everyone time to reconnect with each other and perhaps designate your ‘first day back’ as actually the ‘pre-first day back’ – they don’t have to know that.
Indeed, we’re still figuring out how to navigate this new reality of ours, so keep everyone informed of what you’re doing and how you’re doing it and remember, communication is king – so keep that open-door policy of yours, open…but sanitized.
