There are so many things that we cannot control right now. We are all living under the restriction of shelter in place orders by our state governor and our local public health officials, although beginning today some of those restrictions are beginning to loosen. Some own or work for businesses that are considered “essential” while others do not. Some have set up home offices and have been working remotely, while yet others have been furloughed and forced to file for unemployment.
The only thing that we can be certain of is that this pandemic has created a new normal for all of us. As more businesses prepare to open again, we will still have to observe social distancing protocols. This may be our world for a long time yet.
Our recommendation is to use this time wisely, whether your business is considered essential now or you are preparing for repopulating the workplace in the (hopefully) near future. It may even be reasonable to anticipate some updated requirements from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in response to this pandemic and beyond. That said, let’s be proactive and prepare – write a safety plan, train your employees, and implement!
The first consideration should be for the health of your employees. Are there employees that can continue to work at home? Will you require employees to stay home if they feel ill? Will you conduct a symptom check of employees each day, including taking temperatures? Will you require employees to wear masks or other PPE? How often will breakrooms, bathrooms, other common areas be disinfected? What steps will be taken to ensure that employees can stay six feet away from each other? Where are the areas for handwashing or sanitization? How often will they be expected to use them?
Once the employees’ needs have been determined, the next consideration should be the health of the customer. Think about if you will need to limit the occupancy of your workplace to ensure adequate six-foot spacing between individuals. Perhaps you’re able to post an employee at the door to provide foot-traffic control or perhaps you will rely on signage. Customers will also want to know what measures are taken to disinfect common areas such as counters, a waiting area, or payment systems. Perhaps there’s a way for your business to accept pre-payments through an online system. Perhaps you will place tape on the floor to help customers determine how far to stand from one another to prevent crowding.
One thing that everyone should consider, regardless of how remote the possibility is, is how your business will respond should an employee or a customer in recent contact with your business tests positive for COVID-19. Your plan should contain guidance on how to notify other employees and customers while protecting privacy, how to disinfect the workplace, and whether reporting to OSHA will be mandated.
Finally, the most important part of any safety plan is training your employees. Make sure they all have a copy of the plan and that everyone has had a chance to ask questions and have input. Have them sign an acknowledgement that they have received the training. Place signage at important points of customer contact to ensure that they too are aware of your plan. Perhaps even use social media to get the word out to your customer base about the steps that your business is taking to protect everyone’s safety.
We all want the same thing – to be safe and well. With some planning and foresight, we can be both while keeping our workers working and our economy strong.
Laura McAndrews Sammel is CFO and Executive Human Resources Consultant with Combs Consulting Group and has over fifteen years’ experience as a human resources and business executive. She holds a PHR certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute and a master’s degree in business administration from Western Governors University. Laura is an appointed member of Lakeport’s Economic Development Advisory Committee (LEDAC), Secretary and President Elect of the Lakeport Rotary Club, and the Chair of the Lake County Chamber’s Business Education Committee. She can be reached at laura.sammel@combs.com or 833.477.7648.
