With the COVID-19 lockdown gradually easing, businesses in many industries are starting up once again, with people coming into work and customers now able to return. This is very tentative, as the threat of coronavirus remains (albeit low), so it is important for businesses to do all that they can to protect public health, abide by government guidelines, and help customers and staff feel confident and protected at all times.
So, how can you go about doing this? There are specific guidelines in place, but here are a few helpful steps that business owners should take to be vigilant when re-opening.
Ensure Hygiene Is a Priority
Obviously, hygiene is crucial in stopping the transmission of coronavirus. This means that you should have hand sanitizer stations around the workplace, along with signs reminding people to wash their hands regularly. You may also want to encourage people to bring their own hand gel to the office and lead by example by regularly washing your own hands.
Stagger Work
With social distancing still in place as an important step to protect public health, you will find that this is much easier if you stagger shifts and break times so that there are fewer people in the building at once.
Flexible Working Patterns
Following this, you may want to make flexible working patterns the new norm. Many businesses have found that remote working is successful and can bring a range of benefits, so some are changing their approach and encouraging remote work where possible.
Safe Travel
If people are traveling into the office, you will want to make sure that they are doing so safely not only for their own health, but also for other employees and the public as a whole. Driving is safer than public transportation, but steps are being taken to make public transport safer. For example, there is now a smart card that enables train users to buy and renew tickets online and simply tap the keycard to gain access to the platform, which would help those safely going via train to Wembley Central and other London areas.
Markers on the Floor
It can be hard to maintain social distancing, especially when there are lots of people in one space. This is why it is a good idea to lay markers on the floor and to create a one-way system if you have customers entering the building. Social distancing has been reduced to one meter, which can help you to increase capacity, but you may want to think about maintaining two meters to be extra vigilant and if you have the space.
Online Meetings
If you have regular client meetings, then you may want to continue with online meetings for the time being so that people do not have to travel and so that it is easy to maintain social distancing in the office. Having the right software and tools in place is vital for this, so this will be worth investing in if you have not already.
Contactless Facilities
Where possible, you should try to integrate contactless facilities to reduce face-to-face contact. This might include automatic doors, contactless payments, key card access, and online bookings.
It is excellent to see businesses starting to return to normal, but it is vital that company owners are vigilant and know how they can provide their service while protecting the health of their staff, customers, and the public as a whole. The above steps should help with this.
