Workplace restart – what all should be kept in mind

Just a few days back within one of our cohorts’ groups there was a question on is there any protocol or guideline available for offices to follow, as and when the Government gives a go-ahead for offices to re-start. We tried to find if something was available online including the WHO site, we did find one relevant document (19 March 2020, getting your workplace ready for COVID-19) but nothing on what to do once the office restart, which we believe will be more than just a medical-based guideline.

So, we all decided to discuss this topic (via zoom, thus ensuring social distancing) and various ideas and aspects related to this were discussed. We agreed that based on the type of organization the approach could differ i.e. MSME, Educational institutes and corporates, but one point which came up was that it could be a ‘new normal’ going forward.

Following is what we think could be a good guideline to follow.

1.      What are we doing now to manage employees' morale and motivation?

2.      What should be done before offices can start

3.      What to do when offices re-start

4.      Plan to follow up till its BAU again

What are we doing now to manage employees' morale and motivation?

·        Are we in constant touch with them, apart from day to day work related interaction?

·        Are we aware if someone is impacted due to pandemic either personally or within their family

·        WFH was implemented in short notice, are we offering them to take leaves (in coming months) to rebalance the work-life balance

·        There are already concerns about layoffs, what is being done about it. Is your communication taking care of it

· In-short is a comprehensive communication strategy in place and being implemented effectively

What should be done before offices can start

·        Will approval from Government authorities required before restarting, this should be checked

o  Will approval at the organization level or at employee level too

o  Will employee be given some heads up so that they can plan to re-join

·        Is a plan in place to sanitize the office premises proactively?

o   For in-house medical team, is proper equipment and material need to be procured

o  If there is no in-house medical team, then what is the plan

·        If there is a plan for staggered employee come back

o  Who will come when is this being identified?

o  Is the communication in place to put this into action when required?

·        Above may raise more stress about will others be laid off, so a strategy to handle this as part of point 1 should be in place

·        Is this an opportunity to have a ‘new normal’, do all employees need to come back, can some part of employees continue to WFH as part of BAU?

o  Is IT part being investigated proactively

·        To follow the WHO guidelines to have the office workplace for the pandemic, key ones being

o  To put posters at highly visible places to drive the point home

o  To maintain 1-meter distance for the workplace, meeting rooms and cafeteria

§ Does layout require realignment

o  What about lifts

o  If the organization is offering transport facility, how will that be managed

§ Do we need to engage transport vendors?

o  Easy access to sanitizers

§ Do we need to order it?

o  Wearing of masks etc.

§ Do we need to order it

·        How the workload be divided - will the one is office pick more load etc, all this should be factored in before office restarts

·        If part of the team will be WFH and rest in office, how will HR manage employee engagement

What to do when offices re-start

·        On the day of employees come in, will there be a medical check-up before employee enter work premised (i.e. temperature check etc at the entry gate)

·        Similar approach will have to be adopted for Vendors and material being brought in

·        Will, there be random checks? if yes how internal or external

·        To follow the WHO guidelines to have the office work-place for the pandemic, key ones being

o  To maintain 1-meter distance for the workplace, meeting rooms and cafeteria

o  What about lifts

o  Managing transport facility with social distancing

o  Easy access and use of sanitizers

o  Wearing of masks etc.

·        If someone suddenly has symptoms then how will that be handled, will organization take care of it or the person will be left to manage it itself will the job stay safe till the person returns

·        A scorecard in place to monitor key parameter to come back to BAU

Plan to follow up till its BAU again

·        Proactive review and follow-up of scorecard and determine when to declare BAU

·        BCP plan in place if lockdown happens again

·        Updating of DR and BCP plans and SOPs

·        Proactive testing of new processes

·        Orienting workforce on ‘new normal’

While we accept that this is not comprehensive and the specifics might differ basis domains, but it could be a good starting point and more can be added to it, as we go ahead. But the fact is that ‘new normal’, maybe here to stay. Do read an article on post-corona opportunities as it is relevant to this topic. ( please read https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/post-corona-opportunities-tejpal-singh-batra)