3 June 2020
5 tips to reopen your office safely!
Open now? Open later? Questions that invade the minds of entrepreneurs eager to resume their business in full, but afraid to compromise the safety of their employees and customers.
In this article, you will find the 5 tips that the renowned author Joseph Grenny considers essential to reopen your business safely:
Ask and thank.
The only way to create and sustain change is to have 200% social responsibility: employees must understand that they are not simply responsible for themselves (the first 100%), they are also responsible for ensuring that everyone around them follows safety rules (the second 100%). It is important to instruct our employees to remember protocols to someone who violates safe practices with an appropriate "please"! For example: "Please wear the mask when in the office".
Conduct a training camp related to Covid-19 before reopening the company.
The idea of a "training camp" is intended to break old patterns and introduce new ones. The easiest time to redefine rules is when nobody knows what is normal. When employees return to the workplace, take advantage of their untrained expectations to conduct training. This can be as short as 30 minutes or as long as a few hours, depending on how many new rules you need people to practice.
Practice with fire drills.
Perform fire drills daily for the first week, asking people to stop what they are doing and practice the new behaviors. In the following weeks, twice a week is enough. Effective fire drills require leadership: Leaders should accompany all employees in order to understand whether they follow the safety procedures imposed. Fire drills are key to sustaining change, as they strengthen the importance of following procedures in the minds of employees.
Carry out daily rounds.
During the first few days, carry out daily rounds in order to check that all safety procedures and rules are being properly followed. Do this at unpredictable times and do not hesitate to call attention if you feel it is necessary. We live in a tense time, but everyone's safety and health comes first!
Make yours results public
Communicate what procedures and rules you have adopted in your company and commit to inform what results they have brought to your organization.
In addition to promoting the image of a company concerned with ensuring the safety of all involved, you are also motivating others to do so. Don't forget that information is power, and in the uncertain phase we live in, sharing can help many organizations!
In this article, you will find the 5 tips that the renowned author Joseph Grenny considers essential to reopen your business safely:
Ask and thank.
The only way to create and sustain change is to have 200% social responsibility: employees must understand that they are not simply responsible for themselves (the first 100%), they are also responsible for ensuring that everyone around them follows safety rules (the second 100%). It is important to instruct our employees to remember protocols to someone who violates safe practices with an appropriate "please"! For example: "Please wear the mask when in the office".
Conduct a training camp related to Covid-19 before reopening the company.
The idea of a "training camp" is intended to break old patterns and introduce new ones. The easiest time to redefine rules is when nobody knows what is normal. When employees return to the workplace, take advantage of their untrained expectations to conduct training. This can be as short as 30 minutes or as long as a few hours, depending on how many new rules you need people to practice.
Practice with fire drills.
Perform fire drills daily for the first week, asking people to stop what they are doing and practice the new behaviors. In the following weeks, twice a week is enough. Effective fire drills require leadership: Leaders should accompany all employees in order to understand whether they follow the safety procedures imposed. Fire drills are key to sustaining change, as they strengthen the importance of following procedures in the minds of employees.
Carry out daily rounds.
During the first few days, carry out daily rounds in order to check that all safety procedures and rules are being properly followed. Do this at unpredictable times and do not hesitate to call attention if you feel it is necessary. We live in a tense time, but everyone's safety and health comes first!
Make yours results public
Communicate what procedures and rules you have adopted in your company and commit to inform what results they have brought to your organization.
In addition to promoting the image of a company concerned with ensuring the safety of all involved, you are also motivating others to do so. Don't forget that information is power, and in the uncertain phase we live in, sharing can help many organizations!
