As Canadian businesses reopen after lockdown, owners, managers and employees will have questions and concerns. How will our offices and workplaces be different? What protocols and procedures need to be implemented in order to reduce the risk of disease transmission in indoor shared work environments? How can your company or organization prepare for going back to work, and if your business is already open, how do you keep it healthy and safe?
Professional deep cleaning for offices and other workplaces has become the norm for businesses that have remained opened, and it will need to become a regular part of the commercial cleaning and disinfection routine for businesses that will reopen. Work facilities must remain safe for returning employees and customers, so, in addition to daily cleaning and sanitizing, regularly scheduled deep cleaning sessions will be necessary to help reduce health risk in all indoor work spaces.
To prevent disease transmission and maintain the highest standards of health and safety at your business, use a professional commercial cleaning and disinfection company you can rely on, with the experience and resources to provide the most up-to-date cleaning and disinfection products and technology.
Facility managers will want to know they can depend on commercial cleaning professionals who are able to offer enhanced levels of cleaning and disinfection, and provide peace of mind to staff and customers that COVID-19 prevention measures are being maintained at the highest levels.
To address health and safety concerns for businesses, ServiceMaster Clean has designed the innovative, science-based PROTECT-3 ADVANCE™ program to provide comprehensive cleaning and disinfecting services, including the use of an anti-microbial product to provide continuous, preventative protection, for public and commercial facilities of any scale.
ServiceMaster Clean is aligned with Health Canada recommendations and has the experience and resources to implement effective cleaning and disinfecting services to help prevent outbreak and spread of infectious disease in the workplace.
In addition to implementing a regular commercial cleaning and disinfection routine, here are some other ways to plan for a safe and healthy return to work at your place of business:
Risk Assessments
Indoor work facilities will need to undergo pre-occupancy inspections to assess and identify key areas of risk for disease transmission. These should take into consideration the working habits and needs of all teams and departments within the organization. Areas of focus should be the flow and proximity of people within the building, the frequency and demand for face-to-face meetings, and the identification of high-traffic and frequent touch-point areas. These assessments can then inform the basis for establishing procedures, protocols and guidance for staff to avoid crowding and risk of virus transmission.
Logistical Alterations
The results of a facility’s risk assessment may indicate a need to alter the layout of the workplace, including the proximity of desks and seating. Arrival and departure times for employees may also need to be staggered to avoid crowding at specific times, and required days of attendance may be reduced. Meetings may become a mix of both in-person and remote attendance.
Social Distancing
As employees and staff transition from working remotely and interacting on screen, to shared on-site work areas, business owners and facility managers need to provide clear guidance on social distancing as part of returning to the work after lockdown.
Flexibility
Many organizations have implemented remote working, and for many employees this will become a permanent circumstance, so planning for employees returning to work after lockdown should include flexibility for both on-site and work-from-home scenarios.
Mental Health
Understandably, many employees will experience apprehension around the prospect of returning to the office and other shared indoor work environments. Make sure that staff are clear about health and safety procedures and expectations, and be understanding that for some, the return to shared indoor work spaces comes with higher levels of anxiety than others.
The experts at ServiceMaster Clean have been helping essential businesses stay open throughout the pandemic. We would be happy to provide an assessment for professional commercial cleaning and disinfection at your facility, to help keep it healthy and safe.