ARE YOU KEEPING YOUR EMPLOYEES SAFE?

ARE YOU KEEPING YOUR

EMPLOYEES SAFE?

As I sit in my office in Vancouver, Canada and see the Covid-19 infections rise again in what is being termed as the “second wave”, the one question that comes to my mind is – How do I keep my office staff safe? This question is critical as we get a lot of visitors in the office. Some wear masks and some don’t, a few sanitize their hands using the sanitizer dispenser we provide at the door and some don’t. I confess that given the low infection rates in our city over the summer, we did not strictly enforce the prevention rules but with infections continuing to rise on a daily basis, we need to change our approach. For a small business, this can be tricky as we need to maintain a balance between treating our customers with respect and protecting our staff at the same time. I mention treating our customers with respect as the last thing we want is an argument or confrontation with that one customer that refuses to wear a mask or sanitize their hands when they enter our office. Let me share with you 7 key measures we have taken in order to keep our employees safe.

A LARGE POSTER AT THE DOOR

– This is the first indication to a visiting customer that they are entering an office in which safety of our staff is important. The poster informs visitors that they need to sanitize their hands as soon as they enter the office and that they need to wear a mask. The poster also informs them that should

they have any of the classic symptoms of the virus, they should not enter and seek a test to rule out an infection. We also request them to not enter our office if they are aware of being in contact with someone who is infected and hence have been requested to self-isolate for 14 days.

AS SOON AS THEY ENTER – Our receptionist who is wearing a mask will ask every visitor if they have read the poster at our door. If the answer is no, she will repeat all the points and confirm that the visitor is safe to enter. They will then be requested to sanitize their hands and wear a mask (in case they are not wearing one). In case they don’t have a mask, we provide them with one at the reception desk.

WAITING AREA – We have kept a special waiting area with single chairs which are placed 6 feet apart and facing different directions. The different direction is important to ensure that if someone coughs or sneezes, their droplets do not directly travel in the direction of another waiting visitor. In case there are more visitors than the number of chairs provided, they are asked to wait outside the office and are informed that they will be called inside once there is sufficient room and we communicate this to them by calling them on their cellphone. MEETING AREA – All meetings are held in our conference room. Visitors cannot enter work areas nor can they enter private cabins. In the conference room, a safe distance of 6 feet is maintained between chairs and the conference room door is left open to allow air to circulate unless there is a confidential element to the meeting.

STAFF ATTENDANCE – As we had a large number of staff in a relatively small office space, we decided to rotate our staff days at the office. Depending on which roles are important for the office, they were asked to be in office 3 times a week and others who could work from home and had field work, were asked to come in only 2 days a week. The only people present on all 5 days were the management team which included me. Present staff members were asked to take turns to sit at the reception desk so that we did not need to have a fulltime receptionist.

STAFF SEATING – Now that we had a limited number of staff, they were given individual desks 6 feet apart and their open desks were protected by plexi/ fiber glass screens. If they needed to have a meeting, it was confined to the conference room or they could simply communicate with each other using the office phone system.

OFFICE CLEANING PROCEDURES

– The reception and conference areas were completely wiped and sanitized after every use. We have kept a fan to air out the conference room after each visit to ensure that there are no infectious droplets hanging in the air. All the desks, sitting areas and equipment are sanitized at the end of each day. Disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizers, masks, face shields and other protective equipment is provided to the staff and they are encouraged to use all of them frequently as required.

The health of our staff is critical to ensuring that our business runs smoothly. It also demonstrates that we care about the wellbeing of our team and are willing to take the necessary steps to protect them while they are at work. If you run a small business like I do, I encourage you to put these safety protocols and procedures in place as soon as possible. In the meantime, please wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, maintain a physical distance of two meters (approx. 6 feet) with everyone other than the people you live with and be kind, be calm and be safe.