Businesses are tackling the challenges of opening up after lockdown
While many parts of the country are experiencing that any plans to ease lockdowns are temporarily being put on hold, or even reversed, many others are looking at the prospects of re-opening soon. However, the threat of COVID-19 is far from over, so here are some of the ways that many local and small businesses are looking to address the health and business risks of re-opening.
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A thorough risk assessment is essential
Health & Safety Executive Guidelines have been published on addressing the level of risk in the workplace, with special attention being paid to the risk of spreading coronavirus. As such, before opening their doors, there is a responsibility for business owners to carry out a thorough risk assessment that involves consulting with workers and unions, as well as sharing those results and the policy changes taken to address them.
Don’t welcome the whole team back
If your team has gotten used to working remotely over the past months, then it may be wise to consider relying on that trend for a while longer for the near future. Many businesses are looking at keeping part of their workforce remote while welcoming others into the office. As such, this can help improve social distancing efforts in the office, while also allowing employees to work flexibly from home if they are particularly concerned about vulnerable health in them or family members.
Ensuring the highest standards of hygiene
Steps must be taken to create a policy ensuring the hygiene of employees and the spaces that they use when they return to the office. Making area cleaning and hand-washing supplies readily available will be essential. Working with office cleaning teams can help ensure the cleanliness standards of the office as a whole. What’s more, it can restore some confidence in the workers that their needs for a hygienic workplace are being taken seriously.
Reducing the risk of transmission
Remote working and better cleaning standards can both help to prevent the spread. However, each individual employee also needs to be responsible for managing their own transmission risk. However, this can be done with the help of policies that look at things like reducing meetings, keeping joint activity time short, using back-to-back working arrangements, erecting screens and barriers, and so on. Making masks mandatory in the workplace may also help control transmission risks.
Future flexibility is essential
There is a significant risk that even after opening the office again that businesses will have to go through another period of closures. The lockdown has, by many accounts, been handled badly, implemented too late to prevent spreads throughout many locations in the country, with restrictions loosened too early to flatten the curve, as the initial plan was. As such, it may be necessary to go back into lockdown again before too long.
It’s crucial to read and understand any government guidelines regarding operating your business while the pandemic still remains a threat at large. The utmost caution should be used to guarantee safety above all else, no matter how much restrictions are eased.