While most small and even large-scale businesses were disrupted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In recent times, however, many states have issued permissions and instructions for certain businesses to reopen for business. Businesses that have been granted permission to reopen for business have been advised to follow the guidelines put in place by the CDC for small businesses.
This article is a quick guide to highlight what is expected by the CDC of any small business opened for operation during COVID-19 pandemic.
Identify a Workplace Coordinator
While your company is open for business in the time of COVID-19, you must identify a workplace coordinator who will be responsible for COVID-19 related issues and their impact at the workplace. This will help to ensure that every situation concerning COVID-19 can be attended to at all times.
Examine Company Policies for Leave, Telework, and Employee Compensation
To ensure that your employees are treated fairly during these trying times, it is recommended that you carry out some of these actions:
Review your leave policies and make them more flexible and amenable, especially for sick employees. Also, sick employees should be allowed to stay at home and away from co-workers to reduce the risk of severe illness if infected with the COVID-19 virus. If possible, your leave policies should account for employees that need to stay at home and take care of their children at home due to school closure, or sick family members.
If possible, make use of flexible work sites, and flexible work hours to accommodate more of your employees' needs. This will help with effective social distancing measures recommended by the CDC.
Have Conversations with Employees About Health Concerns
Employees like the elderly ones, and those with chronic medical conditions should be talked to about their higher risk for severe illness, and the steps they can take to protect themselves. Also, whenever possible, these kinds of employees can be allowed to work from home or scheduled to work at times of the day when there is less traffic.
Promote Health Practices for Coughing, Sneezing and Handwashing
You can employ the services of a professional cleaning and disinfecting company to help set up disinfection stations around the workplace, and give health safety education to your employees. This kind of service would involve the provision of tissues, no-touch trash cans, soap and water, and hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol.
SafeFromSpread is a cleaning agency that provides cleaning and disinfection services to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large corporations.
Change Some of Your Work Practices to Ensure Minimal Face-To-Face Contact Between Employees
For businesses in states where social distancing is recommended, it is important to actively encourage flexible work arrangements such as teleworking and staggered shifts to minimize face-to-face contact between employees.
Provide Education and Training Materials
it is important to provide education and training materials to your employees at all levels in an easy to understand format, and in the appropriate languages to ensure that they understand the new safety practices required by them. Some of these education materials include fact sheets and posters.
Conclusion
You can visit the official CDC website to get information on Guidance for small businesses.
SafeFromSpread carries out functions like workplace sanitization, hands-free door installation, safety station installations, custom signage design, and installation, and provides comprehensive safety education for your staff.
There has never been a more important time to ensure the health and safety of your workplace. Therefore, visit us at SafeFromSpread.com and keep your environment safe from spread while communicating the safety of your company to your clients.