Every aspect of our day-to-day lives has been impacted by the Internet, whether it be work or personal time. Since nations enforced strict lockdowns, employees have mostly been working remotely. Now that the world is slowly getting back on its feet after the lockdown, employers are evaluating their options and planning strategies to ensure employee safety after returning to the physical office.
With some restrictions remaining, companies must consider not just the workplace, but employees' daily travel as well. It is the need of the hour to deploy proper training to employees that are heading back to the office. Explaining to them the measures and rules to follow is indispensable. The good news is that this can be done without making things complicated. Tools like an LMS can help manage and deploy such training programs easily and effectively. One such LMS is Coassemble which comes packed with a plethora of features to ensure proper training is provided to the employees before they step out of their house.
Here are a few elements that you can cover in this training.
The Change after returning.
To ensure that social distancing norms are met, the head or managers can examine the office first. During this exercise, they can review simple things, such as how employees can better utilize space during their lunchtime or figure out better ways to reorganize seating, and more.
They can also ensure they are only calling 50% of employees per day. The employees can be assigned rotating shifts so that the office space does not get crowded and safety measures can be taken with ease.
To rearrange the seating, the IT team will have to move numerous electronic equipment and cables, and this requires the IT team and facilities to work well together. It is also essential that all equipment has been tested for proper operation and properly sanitized after being idle for so long.
Team Meetings
Conducting team meetings is important and we cannot skip them. These meetings can now be taken online with the help of video conferencing tools. This will make sure the COVID protocols are followed and every member is able to attend the meeting.
The flexibility to attend meetings remotely ensures that no group of people is locked inside a small cabin. Instead, all of them will follow social distancing rules and keep themselves as well as each other safe. It will also be helpful for the other 50% of the employees who are working from home; they will also be able to become a part of the meeting.
Special Groups and other responsibilities
There may be some staff members in your company who are at a high risk of getting infected. These include people who are of senior age, people with respiratory illness, pregnant women, or those who live with children or elderly people. For these people, going into the workplace can be risky.
You can consider not calling them to your office and allowing them to work from home. You can always amend the guidelines and align the timings of these individuals with those who are visiting the office to keep biases at bay.
Follow all the protocols
To contribute to the safety and health of the workplace, employees should follow COVID safety guidelines by wearing face masks, washing their hands frequently, and refraining from coming to work when they feel unwell. The workplace, as well as their homes, will be safer if precautionary measures are taken. It is also important for employees to identify whether they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. In the event that symptoms are discovered, they should be addressed immediately so others are not endangered.
Conclusion
A simple procedure such as disinfecting before arriving or leaving home or office premises, or being aware of COVID-19 symptoms, should be put into practice. It seems unlikely at least in the next few years that we will ever get back to the way things were before the pandemic. Due to this, organizations have no choice but to keep up with the protocols that are being introduced.
