Australia has done well in response to COVID-19, however, until a vaccine is developed, it will be a very long time before life can return to normal once again. In most cases, it may never be the same.
As COVID-19 restrictions start to ease around Australia, companies and organisations will need to prepare to reopen their businesses. But bringing your staff back to work is not as simple as flicking a switch. Each business has its own unique set of challenges to consider through this transition period – from reimagining hotdesking and meeting spaces to restarting bricks-and-mortar factories and retail locations, along with various to hygiene practices and management of staff interactions.
Developing a COVID-Safe policy and action plan
It is a necessity for businesses to be agile in response to safety requirements for staff and customers. Organisations should have a COVID-Safe plan in place, which covers risk management contingencies and seeks to ensure there are systems for maintaining effective hygiene, health monitoring, and cleaning.
A business may need to continue to scale-up and down depending on their local environments, and consider if staff contract the virus at work, how they manage this from workers compensation and workforce planning perspectives.
- Monitoring and maintaining proper social distancing guidelines.
- Establishing stringent cleaning and sanitation protocols for desks, meeting rooms, bathrooms, end-of-trip facilities and shared kitchen spaces.
- Ensuring your staff are provided with the facilities and personal protective eq