Validity Screening Solutions advises that all employers refer to the CDC re-opening guidelines for professional and health advice.
Below are some tips on communication, new policies, and COVID training.
Tips for employees returning to work:
- Encourage required hand washing breaks
- Encourage and supply sanitizing often
- Monitor face touching and don’t be afraid to remind employees that it’s not allowed under CDC best practices.
- Be careful of close contact. EX- who is working on which parts of a job site. Maybe you use a physical map to identify when each employee would be working one each area. This will help so that when an employee contracts COVID-19 you are able to notify and isolate effected employees
- No sharing tools – or if you are sharing tools, keep spray sanitizer close. J Reiger, a distillery in KC is producing hand sanitizer!
- Discourage ride sharing or encourage people to sit one in the front one in the back if ride sharing can’t be avoided
- Discourage community lunches. That social time could eliminate other social distancing protocols that you are working so hard to implement.
Communication:
- Make sure employees know who their contact is for health concerns or reporting sickness.
- Address anxieties your work force is feeling, encourage extra smiles and positivity from managers on why each person on their team is important.
- Be explicit with how you are protecting your employees, encourage communication from managers
- Put out information as early as possible on return to work policies so employees can make appropriate arrangements.
New Policies/Updating Handbooks:
- Use this time to address and change anything in connection to COVID-19/Pandemic guidelines for your business
- This is also a great time address non-COVID related changes to employee policies or handbooks
- Topics that you may need to address:
- Remote work timecards
- Remote work expenses
- Employee privacy/health results from potential exposure COVID-19.
- Who will be told by management and how will they be notified? Keep this consistent for all employees, departments. Never mention effected employee by name as it may violate privacy for that individual.
- Absence and attendance policy
COVID Training:
- Taking temperatures
- Exits and enters
- How many on an elevator at a time?
- Hand railing touching on stairways?
- Restroom best practices?
- Be consistent with what questions will be asked and when for return screening
- Training
- From the top down managers need to be trained in appropriate leadership so that they can properly manage and give consistent information to employees
- Will you require employees to wear protective gear?
- If yes, train on how long each part of protective material can be used, how to use, when to dispose, etc.
Anxiety/Mental Health:
- Use this time to highlight and encourage Mental Health/Anxiety resources for your office.
- Be sensitive with tone and pitch when responding and talking with employees about COVID-19 and its effect on families/businesses
- Let employees know how they can report problems, if they become symptomatic while at work. Best advice is that you designate one person or have a group that is on call to address the issues. This allows employees to feel more comfortable with returns to work.
- Let employees know how they will be notified if they encounter someone who later tests positive for COVID-19?
- Have office deep cleaned regularly and share that information with employees. You may also need to organize this with the landlord or other businesses in the building.
Can Do’s:
- ASK- Are you experiences symptoms (fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat)
- Take employee temperature- no touching
- Require employees to notify the company if they become ill or are suffering from symptoms, have a phone or email designated for this reporting.
- Make employee leave the workplace if they become ill (CDC Recommends)
- Identify employees who have worked in proximity in the last 14 days and send them home until they get clean COVID-19 results from a doctor.
- Require doctor notes to return to work.
- Require emails or text message reporting from remote employees on what was accomplished each day
Feel free to reach out to Validity on any questions regarding hiring during this time.
