Back to Work Best Practices

“In these uncertain times, how you treat your employees will be remembered for years to come. How business owners respond will have a lasting impact on employee behavior including engagement, productivity and loyalty. Health and well-being, financial stability and job security are top concerns for employees right now and employers can help address those fears in meaningful ways.”   Alan Kohll

Kohll makes a great point about the importance of leadership actions having long lasting impact on their employees. For the past month we’ve been monitoring and gathering what companies are doing in response to the pandemic– within the real estate development industry and outside. Here’s a collection of the best takeaways…  

• Know which employees need to come back into the workplace– when, why, how.
• Consider staggered returns: arrival & departure times, split schedules (week in office, week remote). Keep groups consistent so any infections can be easily traced and contained.
• Consider reduced work hours to minimize time in the office for essential purposes only. 
• Give employees permission to leave when essential office work is done– no need for them to stay longer than necessary.  
• Know who’s sick.  If someone has COVID-19, you cannot say who the person is (because) of HIPPA. (But), you still need to interview the employee to determine who they had contact with and then interview those people and send them home for 14 days. 
• Create and share a Back to Work guideline that sets expectations, outlines new protocols, provides clear instructions. Share on a Zoom conference with time for Q&A, either company-wide or by department, division.  
• Keep touchless thermometers on hand for regular check-ups.  
• Offices originally designed for activity based, interactive work teams need to be adjusted for social distancing.
• Meetings: continue to meet on Zoom, with some employees in the office (at their safely distanced workspace), others at home.  
• Masks provided upon entry for employees to use when leaving their personal workspace.   Wipes and cleaning supplies near doorways, shared file cabinets, etc.  
• More aggressive cleaning schedules by janitorial service.  
• Talk to building management to understand what they are doing to keep your workplace safe. Will they alert you to infections in other companies within the same building? How are they ensuring clean HVAC? 
• Close break rooms, water coolers and any other shared areas.  
• Project approvals: the ability of cities to process online permits, conduct virtual hearings and approvals varies widely. Make sure your team is mindful of those potential delays and roadblocks– as well as trained on how to give virtual presentations.  
• Similarly, recognize those on your team who technologically savvy (or not) when planning virtual meetings.  
• Set expectations for all leaders: This is not the time to micromanage. This is the time for clear expectations and understanding that not all employees’ situations are the same. Example:  a single parent with children home from school will have different bandwidth from the single, DINK, or empty nester employee. Be sensitive– and aware.

For Employees

• Company pays employee out-of-pocket telemed costs through 2020.   
• Free financial planning support, including access to certified planners and credit monitoring.  
• Reimbursement for enhanced WiFi service at home. 
• Reimburse Instacart/Prime memberships.
• Set-up and training of equipment necessary to work from home.   
• Incentives programs for “keeping it local”. Could be company negotiated special offers from locally owned businesses for employees to patronize.  
• Set expectations on work from home schedules. Stress the importance of getting the work done but also acknowledge things are different for remote workers– who sometimes feel the need to demonstrate (they’re) working around the clock. That’s not realistic nor necessarily productive. Acknowledge and “give permission” for them to take breaks during the day to walk the dog, get outside, do housework or homework with the kids. If they don’t respond immediately to an email, you’ll trust they will within the appropriate time.  
• Virtual Happy Hours or Online Break Rooms where employees can drop in to connect and catch up. 
• Up to two weeks additional paid leave for parents affected by COVID related school closures or employees who care for other family members.  
• Virtual workouts and challenges.  
• Gift baskets delivered to employee homes– e.g. cookies, fruit, essentials.  
• The new commute: think about the “journey” employees take coming to work– arrivals (timing), opening doors (building lobby, office), elevators, office hallways, ingress/egress. There are a lot of touchpoints and intersections. Remind employees to be alert, aware and respectful.  
• Take a technology survey of parents with school-aged children. Do they have the technology needed to homeschool? If district isn’t helping, provide an iPad or similar to ease employee’s stress.
• Roll over PTO policy if not currently part of benefits.

For Laid Off Employees

• Employee Relief Fund sponsored by senior executives.  
• Two months of severance + four months medical coverage reimbursement.
• Assistance navigating unemployment applications, conversion from corporate health plans to COBRA or ACA, resume and networking support.  

Trade Partners  

• Your future is hinged to theirs– make sure they’re still around once you’re ready to gear back up.  
• Provide assistance with understanding and applying for stimulus support, applications, etc.  Leverage your lending relationships to open doors.
• Provide necessary equipment for compliance, e.g. thermometers, masks, gloves. Zoom training?  
• Preferred payments to best trade partners, such as earlier than normal. 
• Check in on a regular basis to see how they’re doing, how you can help.     
• Similar to employees, create a blueprint/schedule for trade partners that sets expectations, outlines new protocols, provides clear instructions on returning to work. 

Learn more:

6 Feet Office:  the 6-foot rule isn’t going away anytime soon.  Read how Cushman & Wakefield envisions the future office.  https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/netherlands/six-feet-office

Back to work– in China:  read how the workplace has changed for employees in Gensler’s Beijing office.