Maybe you have found that employees have been going into the office without the company’s knowledge and that a policy needs to be drafted and distributed to make employees aware that this shouldn’t be happening? Also, if there is a genuine need to go into the office, who approves this and makes sure that the employee has the appropriate access and follows the correct procedures? It definitely helps to put an automated process in place to manage these requests.
Organizations are reviewing their ‘working from home policies’ all the time as the lockdown criteria changes, but from discussions that I have had, there is no mad rush to get employees back into the office. This makes ongoing and clear communication even more important! Are you keeping employees up to date with your latest decision-making?
I cannot stress enough how important it is that employees know what the company is thinking and what the plans are. I know that the regular updates that I receive help me feel informed and that the company is thinking about me. I appreciate that these plans can and will change, but as long as that communication channel is kept open then everyone will feel like they know what is going on.
What happens when we go back in?
So, let’s talk about that day when we do start venturing back to the office. You might want to think about issuing an employee survey to see how your staff are feeling about their return and give them the chance to raise any COVID-19 concerns. This ensures that you can address any questions ahead of time and that answers are clearly communicated to everyone. Actually, this is a point I would like to emphasize – this is no time for ambiguity. You need to make sure that all of your employees are getting the same message, at the same time.