Part II: What You Need from Your Employees
Getting back to the office will have its own set of challenges whether your team is returning soon or in the coming months.
In the last blog, we presented the first step of the process, which is communicating clearly to your employees what you are doing to keep them safe, address their concerns and accommodate any special circumstances.
Once your employees feel confident that the workplace is opening safely, the next step is to clearly define your expectations for your employees:
To do so, you need to develop a timeline for your business to recover. Make a plan that is reasonable – it will likely take some time to recover – and communicate it clearly to your employees:
- Talk to your employees and make sure they fully understand the plan and their role in it. Your success is their success. If the plan is clear, they will know what their goals and your expectations are.
- Get their commitment to the company’s recovery plan. Your team and their talents are critical to adapting your business to the new normal. You must make sure that everyone is clear on what part they play in the plan and that they are ready and willing to come back to the office and do their part. Having everyone focused and working to their strengths will maximize efforts and speed the business’s recovery.
- Safety is the new normal. Ensure that employees understand that they will be expected to adapt and adhere to new safety procedures that you are required to put in place, in order to keep everyone healthy.
Do you have the in-house resources to create and implement a plan effectively?
- Knowledge of state and federal requirements to be compliant?
- Expertise in writing policies and procedures to communicate with employees?
- The ability to clearly articulate the vision and mission of your recovery plan?
Taylor HR Group functions as our clients’ outsourced HR Department, providing advice, processes and support to navigate workplace complexities including the new challenges presented by Covid-19. We offer a Return to Work Action Plan and work with you to develop a plan including expectations from your employees, so they are informed, clear and prepared for returning to the office.
We have the HR expertise to ensure you are compliant with local, state and federal guidelines as you get back to the office. We can also help you clearly communicate expectations with your employees. Their confidence in your Return to Work Action Plan will encourage them to redouble their efforts to help the business chart its new course.
Contact Taylor HR Group to get your Return to Work Action Plan in place. Let us help you get and stay on course.