How to Transition Remote Employees Back to the Office
Now that every state is slowly returning to work, companies of all sizes are starting to think about how to transition employees safely and effectively back into the office. If you are ready to start returning to in-person work, follow these tips for a smooth transition.
Only Bring Back Necessary Staff
It will be important to bring people back in shifts. Having an entire team or office come back at once could be dangerous. First, focus on staff that really must be in the office – those who work on hardware or servers, for example.
Make sure that as your staff does return, that you are following all state and local guidelines to allow for social distancing and for protection. You may want to close off breakrooms for the time being to reduce the chances people will congregate in close quarters, for example.
Allow People To Work Remotely Regularly
Now you know you can be a remote-first company, so keep that momentum going. Encourage employees who can do their jobs well from home to keep doing so. You may want to give people the option to return a few days a week and work from home a few days a week, or transition some roles to remote only. Do what makes sense based on your workflows and what your employees want.
Stagger Shifts
Instead of having everyone come in at the stroke of 8 am and leave at the stroke of 5, set up staggered start times. You can start as early as your earliest-risers want to come in. For example, you may choose shifts that start every 30 minutes from 7 am – 9 am.
Set Up Hygiene Stations
Place plenty of hand sanitizer inside the front door and in strategic areas throughout the office so that people can have access to it when they need it. Also, keep sanitizing sprays and wipes in easy-to-reach areas and encourage people to use them once per hour. It might be useful to assign “sanitizing captains” each week to be responsible for spraying/wiping communal areas.
Ramp Up Digital Security
With every employee working from home, a lot of people may have downloaded programs they shouldn’t have. Whether games, video software or apps, use this transitional time to clean up machines and reinforce your digital security protocols. It would be wise to force password resets on all programs and run a company-wide “digital sanitization” initiative to rid machines of malware and unauthorized programs. When devices come back to the office, assume they are not secure and make sure the IT team takes care of any device that ends back up on your internal network.
Looking for more tips on returning to work? Contact PEAK Technical Staffing today to learn more about the ways we can help you leverage talented technical and engineering staff to keep your business moving forward.
