At the start of 2019, no one would have thought such dramatic changes would occur in the space of a few months, yet here we are, on the verge on a second wave of infections and strict lockdowns are in place in many countries. Of course, all businesses are suffering because of the pandemic, some more than others and with that in mind, here are a few things that you can do to protect your employees and customers from this Coronavirus.
- Provide PPE – It is the responsibility of the business owner to ensure that staff and customers are provided with essential PPE and that social distancing measures are in place. Whether you are looking for a latex glove manufacturer or hand sanitiser, Google is your best friend and a bulk purchase means the lowest prices.
- Staff Training – It is important that all employees are aware of how the Covid-19 virus can spread; we know it is airborne and it can live on surfaces for some hours, which is another reason to use latex gloves. Your government will provide you with free learning resources for small businesses, regarding Covid-19 and social distancing measures.
- Virtual Solutions – If you have office staff who sit at their workstation all day, they do not really need to be in the office, as they can complete their work at home and email the finished files. Any employee that does not have to be at your business premises should already be working from home and with clear output targets, stay at home workers are as productive as if they were in the office. You can schedule customers to join you in a video conference call, which is as effective method of remote communication, indeed, many businesses are doing just that. If you are looking to make the best use of available technology, here are a few tips.
- Keep Abreast of Government Updates – Wherever you are in the world, you should make a point of checking online for Covid-19 government updates, which will keep you informed. The government will support small businesses that are affected by the Coronavirus, as well as keeping you informed with the current status.
- Inform Customers – You should have Covid-19 signage if you run a retail outlet, or if the public can access your place of work, then you also need to have signage. If the wearing of face masks in compulsory, then you need signs outside the entrance to inform people of the mask policy, plus you should inform customers to sanitise their hands upon arriving and departing your business premises.
- Working from Home – Accounting staff can all work from home and if your network is on the cloud, your accounting staff can access everything they require to carry out their work. Take a good look at all employees and ask yourself, whether or not it is essential that they come to work at all. Most office staff can work from home and this will reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection and with regular contact through video calls, you can still communicatee with remotely located employees.
As a business owner, it is your duty to do everything in your power to protect your employees and customers and all of the above can help you to do that.
