Aitch Are Gives You...
Hoping you, your friends, and your families are all coping well under the circumstances.
Well, it's going to prove more difficult to re-open offices in the wake of Covid-19 than it was to close them down in the first place, during the lead-up to the pandemic! I just thought I would share with you the approach that we are taking. Our "north stars" We are being guided by the following: - The world of work has changed. What does this mean for us? What will the future hold? How will working life change? - Ensuring that that the welfare of our people inform the approaches we take, and the decisions we make. - The balance between re-opening offices in a planned, progressive way against the reality that many people may not be ready to return to office life. We have decided we are not going to rush in to any re-opening, and have already communicated that employees will have a choice to remain working remotely indefinitely. Having a clear process We have a global Covid-19 Task Team which has had responsibility for monitoring the Covid-19-related data in each country we have employees in, ensuring business continuity, undertaking scenario planning, internal comms and employee engagement, customer engagement, and office management. The "process flow" for re-opening an office is as follows: - A local leader makes a request to re-open the office. - Their HR business partner and relevant exec committee boss supports the request. - The Covid-19 Task Team review the request, and either approve or reject it. Considerations In reviewing the request, the Covid-19 Task Team will take the following in to consideration. - What does the data say? We have said that we need to see a sustained (at least 30 days) decline in the local infection rates, active cases being managed in hospital, and death rates. - Do the local restrictions allow for it? As lockdowns start to ease, one of the areas that remain in place for a while longer is around office life and so the rule of thumb seems to be "if you can continue to work remotely, please do". - Can an office be re-opened in a manner that protects the health and welfare of our people? We have offices around the world. Large, small, leased, serviced, etc. Each one is unique. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work, each office needs a dedicated plan. A progressive re-opening Where the Covid-19 Task Team approves a request to re-open a particular office, we will be doing this on an incremental, phased basis. Here's the plan: - Phase One: 25% of capacity, Tuesday to Thursday. - Phase Two: 50% of capacity, Monday to Thursday. - Phase Three: 75% of capacity, Monday to Friday. - Phase Four: 100% of capacity, Monday to Friday. Things to note: - 30 days for each phase. - For Phase One and Two, people have to request to come to the office a week in advance, so we can ensure we configure the office with the welfare of people in mind, particularly with regard to social distancing. - For Phase One and Two, we will be maintaining our ban on business travel, external visitors to the office, and also on our people attending offsite meetings. At Phase Three, these can be approved by the local leader where the reason for the meeting is deemed to be essential. - Our usual provision of food and drinks will be scaled back. Pre-packaged food, bottled/canned drink and recyclable plates, cutlery etc. for Phase One and Two. Before we re-open an office We are going to: - Test employee sentiment around who is ready to return. We need to accept that the remote working genie is out of the bottle, which when combined with a fear of infection, a reticence to use public transport, and tolerance levels to the measures that will be in place in a re-opened office (PPE, social distancing, etc) will result in employees having more say over when they work, and where from. - Deep-clean the office. - Work with the landlord / serviced office provider to understand what adaptations they are making in reception areas, lobbies and other shared communal spaces to ensure the welfare of people. - Understand any local legal provisions e.g. testing temperatures, signing health forms, wearing facemasks, etc. - Ensure that we have sufficient supplies of PPE, particularly hand sanitiser, wipes, facemasks, etc. - Put in place return-to-work re-onboarding, appropriate signage, guides, etc. to ensure all employees are aware of how to operate in the changed environment. - Configure the workspace to ensure social distancing can be safely maintained. Depending on the office, this may include closing meeting rooms. - Put in place the weekly sign-up and daily sign-in process. Once an office has been re-opened We are going to: - Maintain appropriate controls (week-in-advance approval, daily sign-in) whilst there are capacity restrictions in place. - Have nightly deep-cleaning. - Ensure enhanced and more regular cleaning during office hours. - Require the wearing of facemasks when an employee is not on their own at their allocated workstation. - Ensure everyone is aware of the need to maintain social distancing. - Encourage employees to sign up to any official in-country contact tracing app that may be launched. - Make sure that we keep tabs on how employees feel that the situation is being handled. What's working. What could be done better. - Stay close to the Covid-19 situation. Particularly with regard to local "second waves", and the contingency plans for the possible re-closure of an office in the event of employees being exposed to, or exhibiting symptoms of, Covid-19. Do we have all the answers? Of course not :) We will need to adapt and evolve with the environment around us. Things that may change as time progresses may include: - Employee sentiment with regard to their choices around working from an office v. working remotely. - Our philosophy around what an office is there for. Do we need as much space? Could we be more creative around how we use the space we have? Is there an opportunity to reduce our office footprint? - What constitutes "essential" when it comes to making decisions around business travel, external visitors to the office, attending offsite meetings, etc. - The safety measures we put in place. - Steps we take as an employer when an approved vaccine comes to market. That's enough Covid for now. Hope these ramblings are of some use. A few months ago I would have been delighted to see the end of the interminable headlines about Brexit. The fact that it has taken a pandemic to do that, an event that has changed the political, social and economic fabric of the country, has taken the gloss off that somewhat. Anyhow, stay safe, and be good.
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AuthorSenior HR executive who has seen it all. On a mission to simplify the world of work. Archives
May 2020
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