Your management team can use this checklist as you prepare your workplace for transition back to as normal as possible operations after your team has either been quarantined at home or has been working at home during the pandemic.

This is a very broad overview of key and essential areas to consider.

Provide training and information to employees. Email training information or links to training resources (use CDC resources).
Provide detailed information on how the workplace will reopen and what the rules will be as well as what will be expected from each employee.
Identify a department of a key person to answer employees’ questions. Those answers will be the accepted positions of the company as directed by the senior leadership.
Identify and purchase cleaning and disinfecting supplies for every day employee use on equipment and at the office.
Purchase and distribute the appropriate Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for all employees.
Identify an outside contractor to provide the highest level of cleaning and sanitization of company work areas and common areas.
Develop a work schedule that limits the number of employees in the facility at any given time. Consider staggering report-to-work times or shifts to reduce employee gathering.
Consider the frequency of cleaning cycles in high-touch work areas, and work that into the daily schedule.
Update employee contact information, emergency contact information, and next-of-kin (NOK) information.
Set specific schedules for checks of equipment and assign specific staff members to perform those checks. This included cleaning and sanitization supplies on company vehicles that must go off-site.
Create an ongoing information system that informs everyone on how and when work place and common use areas were cleaned and disinfected.
Create and implement a constant reminder system of protection best practices like: social distancing – remaining at least six-feet apart; not gathering in groups; washing hands often throughout the day, etc. Use posters and flyers to keep these practices at top-of-mind of

All employers need to consider how best to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and lower the impact on their workplace, employees, and community.

Assess your essential functions and the reliance that others and the community have on your services or products.

Be prepared to change your business practices if needed to maintain critical operations (e.g. identify alternative suppliers, prioritize existing customers/ clients, or temporarily suspend some of your operations if needed).
Identify alternate supply chains for critical goods and services – some goods and services may be in higher demand than usual or may be unavailable.
Talk with companies that provide your business with contract or temporary employees about the importance of sick employees staying at home and encouraging them to develop COVID-19 operating policies and procedures and non-punitive leave policies.
Talk with other business owners about your response plans. Share best practices with other businesses in your community (especially those in your supply chain), chambers of commerce, and associations and peer groups to improve business community and community in general response efforts.

Identify a workplace coordinator who will be responsible for COVID-19 issues and their impact at the workplace.

During the pandemic, ensure sick leave policies are flexible and consistent with public health guidance and that employees are aware of and understand these policies.
Maintain flexible policies that permit employees to stay at home to care for sick family members to take care of children due to school and childcare closures. Additional flexibilities might include giving advances on future sick leave or PTO (Paid Time Off) and allowing employees to donate sick leave or PTO to each other.
If you do not currently have an existing sick leave or PTO policy, consider drafting some (non-punitive), “emergency sick leave, or PTO” policies.
Review Human Resources policies to ensure that policies and practices are consistent with public health recommendations and are consistent with state and federal workplace laws.
Connect employees to employee assistance programs (EAP) resources (if available) and community resources as needed. Employees may need additional social, behavioral, and other services, for example coping with the death of a loved one.
If Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is required, in order to meet OSHA standards, a PPE program protocol will need to be written, including Hazard Assessment for the affected work environment.

And if you’re in need for some specific insight tailored for your business, then contact me. A lot of our members are doing extremely well in this environment. To know where the opportunities are, set up a call with me today.