COVID-19 pandemic has forced many employees into home offices. Several people outside of healthcare are physically present at their workplaces to support essential businesses, including the retail, food service, banking, hospitality and manufacturing industries.
The pandemic continues to upend business continuity across the globe, pushing HR leaders prompt in providing masks, sanitizers and personal protective equipment. In addition to these, HR leaders must proactively monitor their non-remote employees as to how they feel about their work and workplace.
Keeping the health and well-being of employees as the top priority:
- Screen employees by placing a temperature-monitoring program before they enter the premises.
- Encourage employees to follow strict hygiene guidelines.
- Encourage employees to leave office and meeting room doors open to reduce the need to touch door handles.
- Supports on-site employees in maintaining greater physical distance from one another.
- Reinforce the company’s commitment to safety. Assure employees that their organization cares about them and has their best interests.
- Providing cleaning products for on-site employees helps in sanitizing their workspaces and keeping their hands free from germs.
- Strict daily cleaning of office spaces is critical wherever employees are working on-site.
- Consider offering employee training regarding safety measures.
Add strategies to help employees
- Adjust leave policies to ensure that sick workers can quarantine at home without losing their income.
- Implement several shifts distributing employees against many people in the single-shift making office space less populated- customers appreciate when informed in advance.
Encourage employees to share their inputs
- Take feedback from on-site employees on how the organization can support them and their families would be better than deciding what is best for on-site employees.
- Leverage both employees’ and business leaders’ networks to gain insight into how other organizations are managing the safety and experience of their on-site employees.
Add up rewards related to pandemic times and recognize.
- The seniors in the organization can take pay cuts and forgo bonuses and commissions (if applicable) to leverage business losses during the pandemic. The same can help to pay the on-site employees regularly.
- Small contributions into the corpus from employees can add some extra funds to support those employees in quarantine.
- HR leaders can utilize the organization’s communications channels to acknowledge employees for the commitment they have shown by coming to work during the crisis.
- Organizations can recognize and reward their on-site employees that can improve employee experienceand drive productivity.
- Additionally, personal note sent thanking the on-site employees and their families for their dedication and contribution can add value to the organization.
