Planning to return to work
Return to work action plan
As businesses slowly come out of lockdown, planning how it is implemented is crucial for the safety of their employees.
In this video, I discuss how some clients are looking to do this.
Return to work action plan: The Desai Despatch – Episode 19
(JK) So we are coming to the point where some businesses are thinking about coming out of lockdown.
In the last week what has your experience been with your clients and what advice have you given them at this very important stage of their business?
(FD) Businesses are starting to think about how they start bringing employees back to the office if at all possible.
Having spoken to some clients, they are looking to address it now, but in a very phased way.
One of my clients is going to leave things as they are now until the end of June and then reassess the position mid-June and then decide which employees start coming back to the office.
One of the things that I have highlighted which people do know about obviously is the safety of your employees and that is paramount.
From travelling to work on public transport and arriving at the premise and how they are looked after while they are in the office, all of this is new. People have to really think about absolutely every step really to ensure that employees feel safe enough to come to work.
The position is going to be with, even other clients are that if they can continue working from home they will be given that option, because if they have to use public transport and they are not comfortable or they are in a vulnerable group or they have family who is vulnerable, then you can’t expect them to come to the office.
Alongside looking after the employee’s wellbeing, I have also said to my clients, you have also got to look after the personal side of the clients themselves, really making sure that they are planning this phase in a very structured way but also getting ready for the next stage.
I am calling this part of planning to come back to work the “warming up” phase.
Once people are back at work, then, I think things will get a bit faster in terms of business and maybe I can call that the “sprint” phase.
It is really starting to look ahead because we don’t want to get stuck in just how are we going to get people to work, but then what happens once they are at work? The business has to continue.
Once you have put in place everything to make them safe, then you need to really focus on the business.
Making sure that my clients are in the right mindset to move forward is also very important.
(JK) Do you think that this is a kind of time band thing? Or do you think it is much more to do with the attitude of your clients? What are you telling them? Are you telling them that this is really more about how rather than when?
(FD) It is definitely about how.
It is going to happen, okay, this will end, It may take a little bit longer, but it will end. So it is how and what are you doing that reassures not just your employees but even your customers that you are genuinely looking after your people.
They can come to work and not worry about
Am I safe here?
They can focus on the work.
Does this resonate with you? If you would like to book a complimentary, no-obligation, coaching session to discuss this further, please email me at falgunidesai@actioncoach.com
