Ensuring Our Staff’s Safety
The spread of Covid-19 has forced many businesses to close or send employees to work from home. Essential businesses must remain open for the health and safety of the American people. Each of these essential businesses have different policies in place to product their employees. As the country looks to reopen in the next few weeks these best practices will ensure the safety of their staffs.
Outsource Logistics is an essential business and has remained opened during the pandemic. They have taken multiple measures to keep their staff and drivers safe. They have hired additional janitorial staff to deep clean and disinfect their facilities. Outsource modified their procedures so that when drivers arrive with loads, they wait outside, and the truck is unloaded by internal staff. In order to make sure the drivers stay safe on the road they are given goody bags with sanitizer, wipes, and snacks so they do have to stop on the road. Here are some simple tips to keep your staff safe during this time:
Stop the spread by stopping contact
If it is possible for employees to work from home that is ideal, but in most cases not possible. Businesses might extend the days and hours they operate to rotate staff to maintain distance between employee. Keeping employees informed and engaged in the process is crucial. Stop handshaking, high fives, and fist bumping. We may never see a return of handshaking in the workplace and we may see a rise in employee attendance. Even the common cold or flu is easily transmitted though hand contact. Discourage employees from touching their faces and reinforce proper hand washing guidelines. If employees are wearing gloves make sure they change them often and continue following best practices.
Meetings
If possible, eliminate meetings or use video conferencing. There are several easy to use platforms such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, UberConference, Skype or FreeConference. If an in-person meeting is vital hold meetings in open, well-ventilated spaces.
Indoor Surfaces
Increase ventilation by opening windows and sanitize surfaces such as door handles, handrails, desktops, chairs, tables, desks, and any other surface touched by staff. Keep sanitization supplies handy to respray though out the day.
Educate and Inform Employees
While it seems like common sense remind employees that if they feel sick or have sick family members they should stay home. Supervisors and managers should be on the lookout for employees who ignore this advice and send them home. Encourage employees to self-monitor their behavior at home and to practice the same procedures at home. Post information and resources in break rooms from reputable sources to combat misinformation.
Keeping ourselves healthy
There is an expression that we must put our own masks on first. This is a reference to when the oxygen masks drop in an airplane and we must attach our own so we can help others. In this case it is imperative that we focus on staying healthy ourselves to best help our staff. Immunity starts with our habits. We need to get an adequate amount of sleep; it is the number one factor in immunity. In addition, eating healthy nutrient filled foods, getting plenty of exercise and reducing stress all factor into our immune systems.
Many states are looking at lifting restrictions by May 1st and keeping our eyes on safety will ensure a smoother transition to workers being back in the workplace. There is further information on the websites for OSHA and the CDC. Our perspective as a nation has shifted and our ensuring the health of our staff will be a top priority.
