The team, here at MeloTel, considers it part of our civic duty to be as informative as possible about the potential dangers posed by the coronavirus. As of this writing, the Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed only 33 cases of COVID-19 in the nation. The United States has, at least, 148 known cases. Our hope, of course, is that these numbers don’t grow.
While this is an aspiration that may not be entirely realistic, we do know that there are many ways we can all work to help prevent the spread of infection. The way we see it, as a business owner, one of your primary current duties is to keep your staff informed of how to keep infection-free. Communication, as they say, is key.
Enforce strict new personal hygiene policies.
Now is definitely not the time to take cleanliness lightly. We’ve all seen those hand washing signs in the washrooms. But how often do we truly pay attention to their instructions? Firmly request that all employees who visit the washroom follow proper hand washing procedures. They involve using soap and warm water and spending at least 20 seconds washing your hands with both.
It’s also a good idea to invest in hand sanitizers if you haven’t already. Stock up on them, if you can, and try to have one placed at everyone’s work station. At the very least, invest in a hand sanitizer dispenser that everyone in your office has access to. If you’ve already done so, don’t hesitate in placing a sign by the dispenser to remind everyone of its presence and their freedom to use it liberally.
Allow sick days when necessary.
Employees all over North America are known to have concerns about taking sick days. They worry that the amount of days they have allotted will run out by the end of each year and their usage of them will impact their salaries. It cannot be stressed enough that your staff members stay at home if they are feeling sick. If you haven’t done so already, hold a morning meeting and be sure to inform everyone that if they are unwell, they are not to come to work.
It may appear awkward, but your new hygiene policies should also address the ways in which people interact with each other. Restricting and handshaking and hugging and replacing those greetings with fist bumps is a safe and even fun way to prevent the passing on of infections. It is also wise to shut down any non-essential functions and facilities at your place of work. The less unnecessary interaction between your staff members, the better it will be for everyone’s health.
Split your teams up into different work stations.
By doing so, you can better utilize your telecommunication services as ways for your team members to communicate with each other. As we pointed out in our last blog, you should also consider having your employees work from home if it is feasible. Working from home, in fact, is becoming more and more of a necessity these days.
With MeloTel’s cloud-hosted Commercial Phone Services, you can allow your employees to work from home with ease. With such features as CloudSoftphone and MeloSIP, the transition from office to home will be a simple one. Contact us today to learn more. You can call us at 1-888-MELOTEL or use the Live Chat feature on our website!
