Are you a business owner? Are you wondering about the best way to reopen during uncertain times?
Keeping your business clean and safe is critical to earning the trust of your customers. Besides complying with state and local regulations, you’ll want to show them that you’re ready to go the extra mile when it comes to keeping them safe from germs.
Here are some extra things you can do.
1. Require Social Distancing
Social distancing means that folks need to stay at least six feet apart and wear a mask if that isn’t possible. This may mean carefully measuring space before placing desks in modules and limiting the number of people in elevators. You may need to reconfigure common spaces so folks know they will be an appropriate distance from those not in their household at all times.
You may wish to create partitions or make use of temporary plexiglass dividers. Colored duct tape in areas where a few people will be meeting can help folks to measure their distance as well.
If you can stagger your employee’s work times or shifts, you can make sure that there are fewer people working in one space at the same time. If it’s possible for some employees to work from home even part of the time, see what you can do to make their work-from-home situation more comfortable.
2. Limit Sharing
Your workplace may be a place where employees are used to sharing common objects. There may be headsets, pens, or computers that get picked up or put down by different individuals throughout the day.
If possible, mark electronics that are to be used by one employee only. If objects like pens need to get shared, have marked “used” and “unused” baskets so they can know which ones are safe to pick up. Sanitize anything that has been touched by employees at the end of the day.
Avoid allowing folks to share things like refrigerators or microwaves, where they could place food that has been touched or eaten. Ask employees to bring in their own appliances or eat lunch outside instead.
If your employees must eat in the building, they should do so in a single common area and stagger their eating times throughout the day. This will limit the number of germs that can get spread through food and eating.
3. Check For Health
Your state may or may not require temperature checks. While someone with a fever may not have COVID-19, there is a chance they may.
It’s important not to let folks interact with other employees until they are fever-free, as this is a possible symptom.
If your company works with an outside nurse or EMT, they would be an ideal point person for temperature checks. They can wear personal protective equipment. Your temperature taker needs to get trained in using a no-touch thermometer if they haven’t already.
The CDC considers a person to have a fever when their temperature is higher than 100.4 degrees F. Other symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing or shortness of breath.
4. Thorough Cleanings
While most places of business have cleaning standards, these may need to get heightened when a pandemic is present. This may include cleaning and sanitizing surfaces that are touched often, including faucet handles, phones, and toys.
You’ll also want to regularly disinfect surfaces that people often eat or breathe on. This includes light switches, handrails, and desktops.
Personal equipment should also get wiped down regularly. This may include face shields, keyboards, and remote controls.
Wipeable covers are a great way to make frequently touched surfaces more cleanable. ATMs, credit card readers, or cash registers are places where these would make cleaning much easier. Alcohol-based wipes or sprays can also help you keep these areas clean quickly.
Special cleaning and disinfecting with effective products is necessary. If you want to be certain your space getting a thorough cleaning, you may want to enlist the help of a professional service that has access to trained workers as well as professional-grade products. You can read on here.
5. Provide a Sanitation Station
Hand sanitizers can effectively kill germs, although it’s no substitute for hand-washing. If your employees are busy and not in a room where sinks are readily available, a desk where they can quickly access sanitizer may help them to hands germ-free throughout the day.
6. Mask Safety
The use of masks has been proven to slow the spread of COVID-19. The CDC recommends that people wear face coverings when they are close to others who don’t live in their households. Cloth coverings slow down the spread of respiratory droplets that occurs when people cough or sneeze.
Some states require face masks, including New York and California. You’ll want to make sure you’re employees are complying with national and state regulations while they’re at work.
7. Keep Doors Open
Doors are an optimal place for workplace germs to spread, especially if they get touched by multiple people within two to four hours.
Keeping doors between corridors and rooms open will help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Keep them open as long as it’s safe to keep them propped with a doorstop or other object.
A Clean and Safe Workspace
Your employees and clients will sincerely appreciate your efforts to keep a shared workspace clean and safe. Masks, sanitizing stations, regular cleanings, and temperature checks will all go a long way towards reassuring those who enter your building that they are in a healthy place.
For more local business advice, read our blog today.