5 Ways to Prepare for the New ‘Normal’ in Business

The past few months have been strange, to say the least. Those of us lucky enough not to have lost anyone as a result of the pandemic will probably have been working from home. That is, if our employers are still in business. Getting back to any kind of normal is not going to be easy, especially without a vaccine, but we need to make a start for the sake of the economy and our collective sanity. But where to start?

Fail to plan, plan to fail

The first thing is planning. Most employers have already been putting plans in place, anyway, trying to ensure that they will fit in with what we think government guidelines will be. This will most likely include installing hand sanitisers, providing disposable face masks, increased cleaning schedules, and where possible, installing screens between workstations and one-way systems.

In older buildings, where the offices are more cramped, screens may not be possible, in which case employers may need to consider keeping about 50% of their workforce homeworking. If this is the case, organisations will need a plan as to who will attend when. There will be a number of considerations as to which teams return to work first - are they customer-facing and do they need to be in the physical workplace? How important is it for them to physically collaborate? You will know this best as a result of the demands of your specific workplace.

Other factors to consider include how your staff will actually get to their workplace and will they be willing to do so? For example, in London, only some 70% of tube trains are running in comparison with pre-lockdown numbers and buses are at 85%. Perhaps employers will need to stagger start and finish times for their staff? Or is there a possibility that staff can travel to work in some other way?

Fully staffed workplaces?

What if team members are unwilling to return to the workplace, either because they still have childcare issues, or because they are simply scared of going back into the office? Start by getting your line managers to have honest conversations with their teams so you can truly understand how your people feel and whether you can do anything to help alleviate concerns. Childcare is potentially a difficult one, and your people may feel that if they have been working satisfactorily from home for three months, they can continue to do so.

There is no quick and easy answer to this, and you may need to spend some time in negotiations with those affected. You need to ensure that your responses are reasonable and proportionate, and that you don’t discriminate against anyone. Winning hearts and minds might well be the best way to start restoring your workforce, using some of the same communication techniques you are using with your customers.

Health and Safety is more important than ever

Many employers have already started putting protective measures in place, but each workplace is unique and a full risk assessment needs to be carried out to ensure that all necessary precautions are put in place. If you have face-to-face customers, ensure not only that they are safe, but also take time to explain the measures that you have taken to safeguard them. A big part of the recovery is public confidence.

Is it demand or is it supply?

If your business has not been running to full capacity throughout Lockdown, you need to change things, but make sure you are fully prepared first. If the issue has been a reduction in demand, you need to re-ignite the demand for your product. If the reason for decline has been that you weren’t able to produce to full capacity then you need to critically assess what you can and can’t do now, and how long it will take for you to get back to where you should be.

You may decide that you don’t need to return to the workplace at all, that continuing to work from home is appropriate for you and your employees. If this is what you decide, make sure your contracts, policies and procedures reflect this. Ensure that you change your working practices accordingly. And make sure you keep the dialogue open. Things may change as quickly in the future as they did a few months ago.