Reopening Your Office After COVID-19: Communicating Your Safe Opening with Employees
Offices around the country are slowly beginning to open after several months of quarantine due to COVID-19. When work-at-home orders were issued in mid-March, many organizations scrambled to accommodate employees and while we’ve all made due, not all businesses had plans in place to send workers home for an extended period. According to McKinsey, while just a few years ago only 25 percent of employed Americans worked from home, that number skyrocketed to an estimated 62 percent in early April. While some businesses are keeping their work-from-home plans in place, many companies are beginning to bring employees back to the office.
Business leaders must be thoughtful in their reopening plans and how those plans are communicated to employees. Some individuals will be apprehensive about coming back to the office. Others may not understand their trepidation. As a business leader, it is up to you to set the tone and clearly communicate guidelines and expectations so your team is on the same page and set up for success.
Follow these guidelines to clearly communicate reopening procedures with your team.
Transparent Communications: Develop a communications plan that includes clear and concise guidelines for bringing employees back to your offices. If you plan to open in phases, outline what those phases entail and what is expected from your team during each phase. Be sure to outline what a return to the office will look like for all staff and be clear that the health and safety of your employees is paramount to your business. Follow local and national health directives, and make sure your team understands the situation is fluid, as is your plan, and remind everyone to be flexible during this time.
Listen to employees: Offer listening sessions for employees. This is an opportunity for your team to ask you questions about reopening and for you to listen to their questions and suggestions and to address any concerns. It is critical to maintain an open line of communication with your team. You might consider a dedicated inbox to address questions or concerns an individual might not feel comfortable with addressing in a larger forum.
Be Empathetic: Not everyone will be excited, or ready, to come back to the office. And, for employees with underlying health issues, or for those who live with someone who is at a higher risk for contracting COVID-19, returning to the office might not be an option. Encourage employees to speak with their manager directly about any concerns they might have regarding a return to the office, and address each concern individually. Remember, what works for one person might not work for another. Be empathetic to your employee’s situations and work with each person individually (as necessary) to create a plan that works for them.
Set Clear Guidelines: Clearly outline policies and procedures for reopening your office while maintaining new social distance guidelines. Make certain these guidelines are shared in multiple formats and in multiple locations. Everything from how to enter the building or ride the elevator to conference room procedures, hosting a meeting, using the office kitchen, eating, and even shaking hands (the elbow bump works great!) must be reviewed. Make sure your team understands all procedures for physical distancing in the office before you open, and clearly communicate any changes moving forward.
Have Work-from-Home Policies in Place: Be flexible with your workforce and provide an easy transition from home to the office. Put a formal work-from-home policy in place and provide clear expectations so your team is on the same page. Provide flexibility for your employees to work from home as some team members may not feel comfortable - or be able - to return to the office. Offer collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Trello, or others to ensure your team can work seamlessly regardless of where they might be located.
If your business is preparing to open, make sure your communications plan includes these elements. Need assistance? The Hékaté Communications team is ready to help you develop a strategic communications plan to help you guide your team back to work. Contact us today to get started.