Grappling With Your Return-to-Workplace Strategy? 5 Things Every Company Needs to Consider

Available for Interviews:  Leni Rivera

Leni Rivera is a Workplace Experience specialist and author of its very first book in the industry, Workplace Experience. Her passion is creating work environments that enable employees to be both productive and happy, regardless of where that is. 

What Leni Rivera can say in an interview
on Employees Returning to the Workplace
:

      1. Don’t Rush It 
        • Ask for employee feedback. 
        • Ease into re-entry by opening your doors for a smaller population
          (10% – 15%) for the first 3 – 6 months.
        • Before growing the population and incorporating new workplace applications, ask for employee feedback once again. 
        • Stay transparent with employees and let them know the measures the company is taking to support the best working model for the organization. 

      1. Safety Protocols Must Come in All 3 Forms:
        visual, experiential, and verifiable

        • Visual: employees need to see it. This means clearly designated sanitization stations, safety information, instructional signage, and cleaners busy cleaning throughout the day. 
        • Experiential: employees need to feel like they (and everyone else) are a part of keeping the environment safe: incorporate pre-screening, temperature checks, and contact tracing measures right before or at the entrances, and mandate pre-reservations for shared work areas. 
        • Verifiable: invisible safety measures should be checked and readily verifiable by employees. This includes air intake rates, HVAC filters, cleaning schedules, and sanitization solution ingredients.
      2. Give People Their Space 
        • Everyone’s personal bubble will be somewhat bloated for the first few months, so be sure to give employees their space. 
        • For employee work areas (whether you have individual workstations, shared working areas, or desk hoteling), make sure to stagger the allocated seating arrangement to provide ample working space for each employee.
        • Maximize outdoor seating if you can.
      3. Think About Lunch
        • Many employees may want to bring their own food for lunch, especially at the start. Make sure you have enough refrigerator space and microwave units, and ample seating areas.
        • If you will be providing food and snacks, be cognizant of food safety protocols, and stick to individually packaged food and beverage choices.
        • Nearby restaurants and cafes may not be open to full capacity yet, so make sure your employees are aware of their food options before returning to work.
      4. Stay Flexible
        • When the pandemic hit, those who were not essential workers were forced to work from home 100% of the time. Imagine a pendulum that swung all the way in one direction, and stayed there for over 12 months. Once restrictions lift, that pendulum will need to swing all the way back one way, and then continue back and forth for a long time before it finally finds its equilibrium. Such is the case with figuring out the best way to support employees to thrive. The reality is that whether everyone is back in the workplace or 100% work remotely, or we continue to adopt some kind of hybrid model, this state of flux is not only normal, it should be expected. That’s why the best thing for companies to do right now when thinking about their future workplace, is to stay flexible.

 

Interview: Leni Rivera

Leni Rivera is a Workplace Experience specialist and author of its very first book in the industry. Her passion is creating work environments that enable employees to be both productive and happy, regardless of where that is.

With a 20-year career spanning three continents and in corporate leadership roles in Interior Design, Real Estate Development, and Global Workplace Services, Leni has the unique ability to understand the impact of a physical environment on employee behavior, and corporate cultures.
Today, as the world begins emerging from the pandemic and organizations start to rethink the future of their workplace, Leni is front and center helping leaders and peers develop a Workplace Experience that drives safety, flexibility, and productivity, allowing employees and businesses to continue to thrive.

Contact:
Jo Allison
Managing Editor
Director of Public Relations
MEDIA AMBASSADORS
Success In Media, Inc.
Jo@SuccessInMedia.com

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