4 tips for a safe return to the office

May 12, 2021

With work from home restrictions lifting and the increase in vaccinations across the state, companies are working to bring employees back to the office, but what exactly will the office look like? Recently, the Chamber hosted a webinar featuring local business leaders sharing their companies’ return to the office plans.

Here are 4 tips from our experts as your business plans for a safe return to the office.

1. Gather input from various departments to better account for change

Each team in an office setting will have different needs in and out of the office. Mary Streed of Securian shared how their company formed a team featuring members of different departments and teams to plan for what a return to the office would look like now and as things continue to evolve.

"One other important aspect for us is what we're calling our Reimagine the Ways of Working teams. We have individuals from human resources, facilities, communication, marketing, technology, risk, and this team works together to think through and test and learn new office realities because we are going to have new office realities and we are going to need to work through the implications of a hybrid workforce. Things will change in the future. And I think we can leverage a lot of the positive things we have learned over the past year into the future."

Mary

Mary Streed
Second VP
HR Business Partners and Associate Experience
Securian

2. Research and implement preferred forms of communication for employers and employees

If offices move toward hybrid work environments, employees from one team could be in the office on one day while a different team was working remotely. What's the best way to promote collaboration while still maintaining hybrid-style flexibility. Working in facilities and property management, Jerry Hersman of Frauenshuh says it's important to learn and help implement the communication platforms that work best for employers and employees or in Frauenshuh's case, its tenants.

"We're also seeing that increased level of communications to tenants on happenings in the buildings and events for improvements. So the tenants can communicate to their own employees and plan accordingly for the future. But what are the tenants planned and preferred platforms of communication? Have we asked them what's best for their use? The bottom line, I think is that good management is going to matter now more than ever. Communication, team coordination and the flexibility of the office space and the amenities."

Jerry
Jerry Hersman
Director – Facilities and Property Management
Frauenshuh

3. Take note of how employees use newly designed workspaces

If your business has newly designed spaces for safe meetings and collaborations, be sure to note how these new spaces are being used to better suit employees, says Gail Peterson of Ecolab.

"One of the reasons we're doing this is it's a test to see how people will the space. It's great to do a lot of pre-planning and ask people what they think, but then actually seeing how they use it is, it has been eye-opening for us. People are coming back, but they're using it for things that we wouldn't have maybe expected them to use it for."

Gail

Gail Peterson
Senior Vice President Global Marketing and Communications
Ecolab

4. Prepare onboarding procedures for new employees in spite of a virtual or hybrid office setting

While current employees may have made a smooth transition to remote or hybrid work, businesses have had to consider how to welcome and train new employees brought on since the start of the pandemic. When preparing for a return to the office or switch to hybrid working, John Lee of Barr Engineering points to helping new employees settle into a company's culture as an imperative.

"We're also concerned about the ability to mentor, particularly newer staff. We've hired a hundred people or so new employees in the last 15 months who have never been in our office. And that's an interesting thing. We're trying to understand how we can make sure that those folks settle into our culture."

John Lee
President and CEO
Barr Engineering