With some Australian employees starting to return to their workplaces, at least for part of the working week, we’ve put together some simple return to work tips to ensure you have a safe and effective work environment.
Workplace cleaning
As well as professional office cleaning, ensure employees regularly clean individual work stations and personal items with disinfectant wipes including:
- Mouse
- Keyboard
- Laptop cover
- Phone
- Eye glasses
- Desktops
- Draw handles
This is especially important for hot desks and other shared workspaces.
Safework Australia provides detailed information on how to effectively clean and disinfect workplaces.
Manage Workplace Attendance
To minimise the number of staff in your workplace at the one time, consider staggering shifts, or alternating work days or weeks for teams or groups of employees.
For instance Team A could attend work one week, then work from home the second week when Team B is on site.
Social Distancing
Minimise contact between staff by ensuring there is adequate space between work stations, there are few or no face-to-face meetings, and breaks are staggered so there are minimal staff in kitchens and breakout areas.
Attendance Policy
Ensure you have a clear policy communicated to all staff regarding workplace attendance and illness. If employees have cold or flu symptoms, they should be required to take sick leave or work remotely.
Of course, if an employee has been exposed to coronavirus, suspects they may have coronavirus, or is waiting on the results of a coronavirus test, they should remain isolated in line with QLD Health coronavirus recommendations.
Technology
Ensure your employees are set up at work and at home with appropriate infrastructure and online collaboration tools to support effective and seemless working environments.
- Ensure your technology is fast and secure
- Check that your Cloud hosting service fits with any changes to business operations.
- Understand the importance of secure video conferencing and ensure you have implemented secure video conferencing in your business.
- Implement effective cyber security measures.
Contact Surety IT for expert assistance with your business cyber security and remote work technology including cloud hosting and Microsoft Teams Calling systems.
