Many businesses across the globe are continuing to adapt to be Covid-19 secure as different lockdowns and restrictions come into place. In the UK, businesses are navigating continued uncertainty while preparing to reopen after the Christmas break. Here are our top tips for keeping your business and team healthy and motivated over the coming months.
Rapid testing
Rapid testing gives businesses a quick and effective way to test their workforce, either on a regular basis or when someone displays symptoms. Regularly testing your workforce can prevent an asymptomatic individual from spreading Covid-19 around your workforce, while having rapid tests available for when someone displays symptoms can reduce the amount of time they are off work.
We spoke with Wendy Beazley from 2 Circles Communications, about how rapid-testing has been used in the business as part of their Covid-19 protocol to keep employees safe.
‘Rapid testing has formed part of our Covid-19 policy to keep our employees safe while they are in the office. We started by testing each employee to create a baseline of knowing that no one had Covid-19. We have tests available in the office so that we can continue to test as and when needed. Just this week an employee received a positive Covid-19 test so the following day we tested every employee. This reassures employees that they haven’t contracted Covid-19 from the positive employee and that they are safe to be in the office. This has helped increase the confidence of each employee and helps them feel comfortable coming to the office knowing they won’t unknowingly infect others.’
Solutions such as tested.me provide a secure, digital place to store test results. Allowing individuals to share their test results and current health status in many situations and provides businesses with up to date information about the health of their workforce.
Create a Covid-secure workplace
Many businesses have already set up Covid-19 protocols to keep their employees safe while at work. However, if your employees are returning to the workplace for the first time in the new year you may be wondering what you should be putting in place. As you reconfigure workspaces to allow for social distancing, always refer to government guidelines and advice as a first point of reference to understand what you must legally do.
You may want to add other protocols above the basic requirements to help boost employee confidence when returning to work. These could include temperature checks for everyone entering the premises and requiring face masks when moving around the building. Integrating technology to make these new processes as seamless as possible can also help employees feel like coming into work isn’t a huge hassle.
For example, having a temperature point at the entry of your premises can help build employee confidence when returning to the workplace. Integrating this with tested.me makes the process of gathering and recording people’s temperatures quick and effortless. Each time an individual with a verified account on the app passes the temperature scanner their app will be updated with their temperature. This will influence their health status which is shared with you when they scan in so that you know if they are safe to enter the building.
Prepare flexible policies
Decide in advance how your company is going to support employees in different situations so, if they happen, you’re prepared. Create flexible policies which can be easily implemented and prioritise the mental health of the individual so that when an employee with a chronic health condition or a need to facilitate social distancing for a period of time asks for accommodations, the company is already prepared to address their needs. This enables your business to adapt quickly to situations which you have prepared for and use the processes and learnings already in place to resolve unexpected situations.
Communicate openly and with empathy
Finally, what, when and how you communicate with your employees is really important in building confidence and trust. Your employees’ wellbeing is extremely important during this on-going period of uncertainty so keeping them updated and informed is vital. Ensure you communicate with your employees each time something changes and explain how this may or may not affect them. Set employees’ expectations of what returning to the workplace will be like to help ease anxiety about the transition. Videos of the new office layout, easy to understand documents on the new protocols in place and a person they can contact if they have any questions are all great ways of reducing uncertainty.
If you are interested in finding out more about tested.me and how the solution could be suitable for your business email us at enquiries@tested.me or visit our website.
