Perhaps you are one of the lucky businesses to have stayed alive through the pandemic. Congratulations!
As governors outline phased re-openings, how prepared are you? As eager as employees will be, they will be equally cautious and concerned. Have you set up the necessary guidelines and safety precautions for your employees as well as your customers?
Leading this unique opportunity to create a new team or build on your existing team will be key to your organizational success. Give your staff the time and opportunity to share and deal with the challenging issues each has faced while fighting or coping with the virus. Many may have lost family members without the opportunity to grieve, juggling continuing childcare issues, and whatnot. At a time like this, they will need leadership support more than ever!
Alleviate fears by implementing safety procedures. Some of the helpful suggestions listed below may be applicable to your business while others may not:
- Sneeze-guard partitions
- Safe zone markers for elevators and wait lines
- Floor layouts honoring distancing
- Food accessibility and kitchen rules
- Common area social distancing (conference rooms, cafeterias, break rooms, gyms, locker rooms and perhaps you keep gyms and locker rooms closed until phase two)
- Equipment adjustments for public spaces (personal keyboard covers, for example)
- Personal hygiene and personal workspace cleanliness
- Personal items security measures (personal tech, mugs, desktop items, masks, availability of disinfectants)
- Distribution of resources by creating staggered work schedules
- Innovative ways to recreate your supply and demand logistics
- Contact tracing (at the very least, encourage employees to be mindful of their public interactions)
The new norm business model will require to be an inclusive, sustainable growth model. A crisis is a terrible thing to waste. Prepare your business to succeed in this new environment. Communicate with your employees and your customers. Let them know the steps you have taken to build trust and confidence. Relationships are based on trust, and that trust will slowly see a return of the business.
