After 13 months of sheltering in place, businesses are faced with the challenge of navigating the transition to bring people back into their buildings as safely as possible.

As part of your reopening strategy there are 5 tips we are going to share today to help you safely welcome employees, customers and vendors back into your facility.

Tip #1: Compliance Communication Matters

Before bringing employees back, it is important to ensure you are well-informed about the guidelines recommended by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). This way your company policies can reference the latest information provided by the CDC to help keep your facility safe.

Your policies should address things like:

  • What happens if someone in your facility contracts COVID?
  • Will working remotely still be an option?
  • What are the cleaning standards your facility is following?
  • What is the screening protocol for employees and visitors?
  • Do all employees and visitors have to wear masks while in the facility?

Having a clear flow of communication will help prevent any confusion about your policy related to COVID.

Tip #2: Update Your Visitor Policy  

Your visitor policy will be unique to your business, but in this new COVID era, it is important to ensure that your visitor policy allows you to be able to contact trace in case there is a COVID case at your facility.

The CDC recommends collaborating with local health departments when it comes to contact tracing. This can help reduce the need for your facility to completely close if there is a case.

Your sign in sheet for visitors should include dates and times your facility was visited, and if possible, have this log maintained by one person at the front desk so all visitors are not touching it.

Tip #3: Office Modifications

The old set up you had in your facility is probably no longer appropriate. Now, you’ll have to make sure your employee workspaces are at least six feet apart. Some businesses are going as far as installing dividers between desks.

Other businesses don’t have enough space to safely accommodate the return of their entire staff in the office. As a result, some companies have rotating schedules between working from home and working in the office.

Tip #4: Personal Hygiene Made Easy

You will also want to make sure all your public areas and conference rooms are well stocked with hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and face masks.

In addition, since hand washing is one of the best tools we have to fight against COVID, it might be helpful to encourage your employees and visitors to wash their hands frequently especially when they arrive in the office, before and after eating, as well as any time they touch a high traffic surface.

According to the CDC, there is no substitute for proper handwashing, which does a great job of killing the coronavirus.

Tip #5: Hire a Professional Cleaning Company

If you’re not already working with a professional cleaning company, now is the time to start. Your employees and visitors are depending on you to keep your facility thoroughly cleaned and disinfected for their safety.

Furthermore, you want a cleaning company that is closely monitoring and following the CDC recommended protocols and products to keep your facility safe.

At a minimum, you need to ensure your cleaning company is using CDC approved disinfectant products that are strong enough to kill viruses like the coronavirus. They should also be following the recommended frequency of cleaning specific areas such as restrooms, high traffic areas, kitchens and of course offices.

Let Us Help With Your Reopening

The prospect of returning to work is exciting but must be done safely to ensure the health and wellbeing of employees and visitors alike.

Colonial has been providing janitorial services to businesses in Northern Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland since 2010. This rich experience has allowed us to fully understand and appreciate the commitment needed to service facilities of all types.

We understand the importance of keeping your facility clean and sanitary. We also closely follow all recommendations by the CDC when it comes to the cleaning products and protocols we follow. You can confidently tell your employees, clients and visitors to your facility that your cleaning company is doing everything to keep everyone as safe as possible.

If you are interested in increasing your cleaning frequency, or if you are ready to put Colonial to work for your facility, please call us at (703) 257-7730 or complete the form on this page.