Is Your Company Ready for Office Re-openings?

The promising results and information coming out of vaccination studies are the good news we've all been waiting for.

It looks like there may, in fact be an end to this uncertain circumstance that's been affecting all aspects of our lives. Public events are being reconsidered with lessening cases, local governments are laying the foundation for re-opening plans, and businesses are setting up Return to Office infrastructure. I get the opportunity to speak with people from different walks of life on a regular basis and it's quite rare that I hear similar ideas coming from local municipality reps as well as members of the startup community. I'm running into these rare situations quite often nowadays.

The idea that offices must re-open with social distancing measures, capacity limitations and have an overall vigilance on employee health is echoed from all walks of professional life.

Now there are some nuances on how to implement specific measures most effectively based on the type of workplace and more, however there are key resounding ideas that are persisting throughout all organizations. Let's focus in on 3.

Setting up a Return to Office (RTO) Plan.

Setting up an RTO plan has undeniably clear benefits. An RTO requires a team to confront the re-opening challenge and address it in a structured, formalized manner. This tangible piece of information provides clarity to an entire organization on what steps are being taken towards a successful re-opening. The reliability of a real plan also boosts internal team sentiment as team members will know that their leadership team is regularly considering their safety and security.

Key Tip: Ensure that your RTO has contingency plans for if a shutdown occurs again.

Maintaining a company log of who goes in and out.

The psychological change of working remotely for more than 30 days in a row is having a lot more people wanting to continue to work from home. Team members want the flexibility of coming into an office while also being able to work from home. This concept itself could be a different blog post altogether - and probably will be.

Having a systematic way to track how many people are in and out of an office at any given time is key to a successful post-pandemic transition. This data will allow you to monitor for clear productivity changes in your workforce and minimize any pandemic-related outbreaks as well.

Imagine the pandemic without modern-day technology - Use software

Imagine what 2020 would have been like without video calls, Whatsapp groups and text messaging. Maybe we'd all have better handwriting, but it still sounds terrible. Just as we've used technology to navigate through the pandemic, we should use technology to transition post-pandemic.

There are great tools out there to help ease the transition to a post-pandemic workplace. Find tools that solve your use case directly on rather than implementing temporary tools. For example, using google spreadsheets for desk allocation is not sustainable.

Software built for your use case will go the long way. Openo.io has automated social distancing, hotel desk tracking, discreet reporting and more. It's a tool we built for this very purpose.

Working smarter is a key mantra of any successful operator in a business. Part of working smarter is utilizing all the information you can get. Hope this helps you and your team on your transition.

Feel free to reach out to me directly at zalmy@openo.io or zedkay22 on Twitter.

- Zalmy
Co-Founder, Openo.io