Brush Up On Your Policies
The coronavirus has created quite a controversary over how to continue with routine situations in the event there is a prolonged emergency quarantine or outbreak. The New York Times reports that Switzerland has banned gatherings of 1000 or more people. Factories have shut down in China and Governor Gavin Newsom is contemplating a state of emergency to handle a coronavirus outbreak. Businesses and schools will all be closed for a long time. It’s time to brush up on your policies.
Schools are equipped with online methods of distributing work for students but workplaces may not be. Who will watch the children? They will not return to school after an outbreak or during a quarantine and daycare will not be available during such an outbreak. Can these parents afford to spend a two-week or more period away from work? Businesses must implement strategies to maintain productivity while workers are at home.
It is time to brush up your work-from-home emergency strategy for an outbreak or quarantine. This plan is one you never hope to use!
The Plan
1) Evaluate what types of work can be done from home – not all jobs or tasks will be available
2) Make a list of all employees who can perform these tasks – your workforce management scheduling tool will allow for you to identify the right people for the task easily
3) Create policies that work best for your particular business, such as the number of hours, breaks and lunches, safety regulations, and security information
4) Make sure the employee has access to the Internet, computer, and working phone line
Brush up on your policies
5) Have a plan to distribute the work to the employee via Internet or phone
6) Accept that productivity may be low as parent must manage children and work in such an emergency — stress levels may increase as the days of the quarantine become prolonged
7) Many employees will not have children to supervise and it may be wise to distribute the most important tasks to them, but expect stress levels to increase as well
8) Stay in contact – face-to-face connections are best – to allow a sense of normalcy between workers and with supervisors. Intelliview allows for such interactions – one-on-one, mentoring, meetings, and so on. Stay in contact!
9) Encourage basic hygiene such as washing hands often, eating healthy meals, exercising, and sleeping
10) Make a plan as to how to move everyone back into the office when crisis is over