It’s safe to say that we’re in rather unprecedented times, and things are currently very weird. However, as business owners, we have to keep things ticking over and continue to provide products and services to our customers. That said, the most important thing is the safety of our employees, so here we have gathered some simple tips you can put in place to keep your employees safe.
Social distancing
If your staff need to all be in the office or warehouse, in order to complete their role, it’s vital that they maintain a safe distance away from each other. If you need to have several staff members in one place, you should request that they all wear face masks, in order to keep themselves, and each other, safe. To encourage this, you could invest in branded face masks, which are also useful if your employees have to interact with the general public. It looks professional and also acts as a marketing tool, as well as adhering to health and safety guidance.
Keep it ventilated
Although we are coming into winter, ventilation is incredibly important in reducing the risk of spreading coronavirus, and fresh air is preferable. If possible, keep plenty of doors and windows open to allow fresh air to flow through, but remember that fire doors must always be kept closed. As long as ventilation and fresh air are provided, air conditioning can continue to be used as needed.
Regular cleaning
Although hygiene has always been important in the workplace, now more than ever is regular cleaning imperative. Ensure that hotspots such as door handles and light switches are wiped down with antibacterial spray throughout the day, and increase your domestic cleaning services to do more thorough cleaning every night.
Hand gel
Provide antibacterial hand gel in various spots in your workplace to ensure that it is regularly used by employees. These should be topped up as needed and placed in high-traffic areas, such as the reception desk, and by shared equipment such as a photocopier. Posters to remind everyone to wash their hands are also a good trigger for these too.
Working from home
If it is possible for your employees to work at home, it is safer to let them do so. Although it might make day-to-day logistics a little more complicated, it will help reduce the risk of infection and also allow a little more flexibility for parents who are having to work around school closing. If you set out your expectations, there’s no reason your staff can’t get just as much done than they do at the office (and sometimes even more, as they’re not chatting in the kitchen with colleagues).
It’s important to remember that we are all in this together, and all we can do is our best, by our customers and our employees, while keeping things running as best we can. A bit of understanding, flexibility, and teamwork goes a long way.
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