When lockdown is lifted and you are able to invite your employees and tenants back into the workplace, you will need to make your workplace Covid-secure so that they can safely re-enter.  Here are our seven steps to a Covid-secure workplace:

Risk assessment 

One of the very first things you should do is conduct a risk assessment for your workplace. A risk assessment is a simple way to identify the main issues that you’ll need to find possible solutions to in order to minimise the risk. You should identify what work activity or situations in the building might cause transmission of the virus. Take a look at your latest government guidelines for a Covid-secure workplace, and make sure your risk assessment aligns with any specific government guidance to ensure you’ve covered all bases. For example, if your government guidelines say that people will need to socially distance, you can think about the areas within your building where there may be a high risk of overcrowding and consider possible solutions.

 

Health checks

A great way to be compliant and Covid-secure is to introduce a digital health check for your workplace community to complete before they plan on entering the building. District’s mobile app health check offers just this. Users answer all of the health check questions on their mobile and will be issued either a passed health check, or on failing their health check will be advised on the next steps. For example, they may be advised to work from home until further notice. In the UK, those who either have or live with someone who has Covid symptoms are not allowed to enter the workplace. And, it is now enforced by law that employers cannot ask an employee who is self-isolating to enter the workplace.

Wayfinding

Wayfinding is really important in terms of providing a covid-secure workplace as it shows people how to easily navigate around the site in a safe way, such as by implementing one way systems and blocking off certain entries and exit ways. Wayfinding can be implemented with simple signage, check out Gensler’s tips on wayfinding in the era of Covid, or you can provide digital wayfinding through a workplace experience app. Wayfinding through an app can work hand in hand with a desk booking functionality. For example, users could book a desk on a certain floor or room and on confirmation they would be given wayfinding instructions on how to get to that floor in the simplest and safest way possible.

Desk management for social distancing

A great way to keep office workers safe at their desks whilst maintaining social distancing measures with little disruption is to allow desks to be booked digitally. You can organise the availability so that only every other desk is available to book to ensure workers are evenly spaced. This is an ideal and simple way to manage the occupancy of your building by only allowing a certain number of desks to be booked until you’re at capacity. This is also an ideal alternative to plastic sneeze guards, which are bad for the environment and don’t look too great  either! Your workplace community can then plan their schedule around what days they are coming into the office and book a desk in advance. 

 

Hygiene and cleanliness

Regularly washing your hands is one of the most important things you can do to minimise the spread of coronavirus. Install hand gel sanitiser stations outside of entries, in individual offices and rooms, near food & drink facilities, toilets and at various points around the workplace. You can install hand gel dispensers which make it easy for people to use on the go and which require no plumbing unlike installing a sink with running water. Wall-mounted hand sanitiser dispensers are now readily available as well as free-standing dispensers. We recommend going for ones that are fitted with a sensor, dispensing hand sanitiser automatically to reduce the need for people to touch the surfaces.

Go contactless

Where possible, consider providing contactless solutions to minimise the need for your workplace community to touch communal services. For example, introduce automatic hand gel dispensers as mentioned above, upgrade to touchless toilet flushes and taps and consider mobile building access. If you have an on-site cafe or shop, consider also going cashless.

Communicate with your workplace community

Last but not least, ensure you communicate with your workplace community so they clearly understand any measures that you’ve put in place and what’s expected of them. Communicating about your Covid-secure workplace will boost confidence among your community, showing them that you’ve done everything you can to provide a safe workplace.

A workplace experience platform could be a good solution for you if you’re looking to go above and beyond for your workplace community. Not only will they see that you’re willing to go the extra mile to ensure their safety in the workplace, you can also use it for driving engagement with remote workers and to communicate the latest Covid-related workplace news.

District Technologies is a workplace experience platform that allows communities to navigate the workplace and stay connected from anywhere.

We hope this article was helpful and has given you some food for thought for your workspace. We advise that you also read the latest government advice and guidelines around making your office Covid-secure to make sure you’re compliant.