Why employee trust is critical for a safe return to physical workplaces

Co-authored by David Storey, EY EMEIA Workforce Advisory Leader; Markus Heinen, EY GSA People Advisory Services Leader; and Tricia Nelson, EY UK&I Workforce Advisory Leader.

As countries around the world went into lockdown in response to Covid-19, businesses had to shut down operations, close offices and shift people to working from home, while dealing with a potential shock to the bottom line. For the vast majority of businesses, it has proved to be a massive operational, technological and logistical challenge, the likes of which few, if any, had ever seen before.

Yet while going into lockdown was difficult, emerging from it and getting businesses up to speed and people back into the physical workplace is going to be far more complex and challenging. As much as businesses were impacted to differing degrees by the lockdown, so they will be by the return to physical work environments. And for those businesses working across borders, there is the additional challenge of lockdowns easing at different rates.

As businesses step up a gear into this transitional phase, there are going to be a huge range of new health and safety measures to be introduced, and the process will be a prolonged one as governments ease restrictions in a phased approach. 

But the return to physical workplaces can’t simply be viewed in isolation – it also needs to be seen as an opportunity to innovate and reimagine the future of work, providing certainty and stability for both the business and its people in the longer term.

EMPLOYEES ARE ANXIOUS AND LOOKING TO THEIR EMPLOYERS FOR LEADERSHIP

 Central to any return to work is the absolute need to keep workers safe. But even this comes with an added dimension – many workers around the globe are scared about physically going back to work.

 A survey conducted at the end of April 2020 by software company Qualtrics showed that 66% of US respondents weren’t comfortable going back into the workplace[1]. They expressed a need to feel safe coming back to work, with the onus being placed largely on businesses to make sure that they do.

 Likewise, in the two months to mid-May, nearly 5,000 people in the UK contacted the regulatory body, the Health and Safety Executive, with workplace safety concerns related to Covid-19.[2]

 All of this points to staff having to put a massive amount of trust in their employers. While staff will be able to take personal steps such as wearing face masks and social distancing, they are relying on their leaders to put in a whole series of protective measures and to reassure them at every step.

 Trust is the only currency that will convince employees to come back and stay back. And that means not only ensuring that employees are safe but also that they feel safe. How they experience the return is key to gaining their confidence and building and maintaining trust.

 TRUST IS BORN FROM A ROBUST RETURN-TO-WORK PROGRAMME

Individual governments and authorities are already putting in place the requirements that need to be met for employees to return to work. And businesses are going to have to implement those requirements while keeping people absolutely front and centre of any decision-making process.

 We believe that the phased return to work outlined by many governments gives businesses the opportunity to monitor their progress and flex as required. But there are three key immediate priorities for a safe transition – what we call the ‘3Ps’ – and questions that businesses need to address.

·      Plan: How do I get ready to transition our people back to physical work environments?

·      Profile: How do I work out which of our people to transition and when?

·      Protect: How do I keep our people safe and engaged?

For all organisations, safely managing the return to work is a complex one. In the early stages, remote working, where possible, will remain preferential especially given the impact of social distancing measures on workplace occupancy levels. 

Businesses can adapt and transform by integrating workforce, financial and commercial resilience and operational continuity. Central to this is a coordinated response – which includes the set-up of a dedicated, designated ‘command centre’ to drive the transition, engaging internal and external stakeholders.

PRIORITY ONE: PLANNING

Planning the return to work is complicated because there are high levels of uncertainty around external factors that are beyond a business’s control. Evolving government directives based on responses to the scientific data will drive this, as will factors such as the availability of public transport and personal protective equipment (PPE). 

That said, businesses will also need to crunch their own numbers on the cost-effectiveness of a return to work, building in new processes that will ensure business continuity. And there will be an absolute need to listen closely to their people, some of who may not actually want to return to the physical workplace yet.

As such, adaptive planning and leadership will be key, and a number of factors will need to be addressed.

Safe return principles and governance – these need to be established and will include considerations such as whether to follow government guidance or set an individual risk-adjusted approach; how to measure the changes; and to what degree employees are consulted.

Policies, protocols and training – HR, Facilities, Health and Safety and Reward issues will need to be reviewed and aligned to new restrictions, processes and ways of working. Examples might be reviewing discipline categories around self-attestation of health status; protocols to manage social distancing; and training to ensure new roles and responsibilities can be carried out. 

Workplace site safety and occupancy planning – instituting social distancing regimes will reduce occupancy levels – this is a major area of planning, especially as maintaining social distancing won’t always be possible due to spatial constraints.

Infection mitigation – Notwithstanding social distancing, cleaning will be crucial, and risk assessments should dictate the depth and frequency of cleaning specific surfaces and high-touch items.

Safe ways of working – Segmenting teams, flexing schedules and alternating shifts are all useful ways to reduce transmission risk. Procedures to govern collective interactions, especially meetings, will also be important. 

Change management, communications and consultation – A comprehensive communications strategy will be crucial in enabling safety and building trust. This will include a pre-return staff consultation; day one and emergency protocol comms; and day-to-day communication to maintain confidence and trust.

PRIORITY TWO: PROFILE 

A central part of the planning process is establishing exactly who should return to physical work environments and when, and at what risk? This can be determined by answering three specific questions.

1. What is critical? Which people physically need to be back in the workplace ahead of others? These will be in roles that are essential for operations and can’t be undertaken remotely.

2. What is possible? What is actually permitted within government restrictions – for instance, the number of employees allowed with any given physical location, and rules on public transport and travel.

3. What is safe, feasible and preferred? This is about employee safety. Which employees should or should not physically return, regardless of what is possible or critical? This could include employee infection status or whether they are in an ‘at risk’ category.

Significantly, this last category will include whether employees actually want to return to the workplace or would rather continue to work remotely for the time being or, indeed, permanently. This requires listening closely to employees and designing a strategy accordingly. And here we return to the element of trust. Employees are expecting businesses to ‘do the right thing’ and make reasonable accommodations. 

Clear, concise and direct communication and engagement with the workforce will be absolutely critical to success. Not only should this be across multiple channels, but needs to be regular so that employees feel valued and front of mind. Now is the time for empathetic yet emphatic leadership – strong decisive control and direction coupled with transparency.

PRIORITY THREE: PROTECT

As indicated earlier, it’s essential that employees feel safe both before and after they return to the workplace. Much of this will come from practical safety measures being put in place, as above. It may also come from how businesses are managing customers or visitors to the workplace.

Beyond any initial plans, however, employees need to trust that their employer is going to keep them safe once they are back and as time passes, especially as more colleagues return to work. The need to feel protected is likely to continue for some time.

Trust can’t be taken for granted. In the results of an Edelman poll of 13,000 people released in early May, only 44% of respondents said they believed companies were protecting their employee sufficiently from Covid-19[3]. The study noted that ‘business is being questioned about both its ability and its integrity, the key building blocks of trust’.

Safety and trust are clearly linked – so communication, listening, consultation, behaviour management and engagement are vital. Employee listening will be critical and this can be done face-to-face or through virtual platforms to gather real-time feedback. 

Business should evidence safety-thinking in their communications. Be clear and bold – build safety priorities into every aspect of communication and leadership. It is the foundation upon which to build trust.

Likewise, it is absolutely vital that employees see that businesses are making changes in response to feedback and concerns. Listening to employees but failing to take action will quickly undermine any trust that has been built. Business will need to continue to adapt, be agile and be transparent. 

TAKING THE LONGER VIEW 

While significant time has been spent reacting to the crisis – flexing and adapting to manage a rapidly changing environment – the COVID-19 pandemic has also created the opportunity for businesses to transform and reimagine not only the physical workplace but also relationships with their people for the years to come.

Taking the longer view when implementing changes now can help accelerate any plans to reimagine the workforce in areas such as talent management, onboarding, recruitment, training and reskilling. The rule book has changed.

There is a distinct opportunity to upskill, reskill and plan for new working patterns, utilising existing people who may need to do something different. Businesses who look after their people in this way will also further enhance the trust they have built in the immediate term. 

Central to any changes will be the physical and mental health of employees. These were already in the spotlight prior to the pandemic, and they will need continued focus and investment in order to maintain trust and create an effective working environment.

The need to engage employees at all stages of this ongoing transition is not only essential but will also deliver real and marked results in the long term. According to a report from Gallup, highly engaged business units realise a 41% reduction in absenteeism and a 17% increase in productivity[4]. This is arguably more important if an increased number are working remotely. 

This period of time will be remembered for a variety of reasons, and employees will remember how their organisation treated them and how they felt during the transition and transformation of work. Businesses that create a new work experience based on safety and trust will find they reap the rewards long after the pandemic has receded.

The views reflected in this article are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organisation or its member firms. 

EY recently hosted a webcast – Workforce Resilience: A Safe Return to Work Environments – which covers the issues included here. It can now be viewed on-demand.

[1] https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/covid-19-back-to-work/

2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52680196

3 https://www.edelman.com/research/moment-of-reckoning

4 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236366/right-culture-not-employee-satisfaction.aspx