With the Easter break over and school holidays coming to an end, more and more Victorians will start returning to the office in coming weeks. This follows the Victorian State Government’s removal of the 75% cap on office workers from 26 March.
This return to the office will undoubtedly bring a mix of feelings for employees, as they pack up their home working station and consider what working in an office in 2021 will look like. Some will be greatly relieved; the juggle of constraints and dynamics at home whilst remaining productive has been an immense challenge for many, and some employees have desperately missed the human interaction and socialisation that office life brings. But for many, this return to their office space after such an eventful and different year will be a difficult one, with feelings of worry through to being overwhelmed being experienced by employees as they contemplate this next step.
There are many ways employers can help to assist their staff return to the office, starting with adhering to the guidelines prescribed by the DHHS. As of 9 April 2021, the Victorian Government announced that no density quotient will be applied in office-based workplaces (except in publicly accessible areas such as lobbies) but businesses still need to have a COVID-safe plan. The best way to ensure compliance with this requirement and prepare your own COVID-safe plan is to check out the DHHS information here
Another way to proactively keep your workplace safe is to sign up your customer-facing employees to the free Infection Control Training currently offered by the Victorian Government. Facilitated by TAFEs and Registered Training Organisations, these accredited courses are an excellent way to empower your team with knowledge and increase the safety at your workplace (and did we mention it is FREE!). More information can be found here: https://www.skills.vic.gov.au/s/free-infection-control-training
Many businesses are also taking the step of employing professional cleaning services to ensure the safest working environment for their staff and customers. This decision is as much about a clean workplace as it is about staff feeling reassured, comfortable and safe when they make the return to the office. Our partners at Enhance Services are experts in this field and have partnered with us to support many Melbourne businesses. You can find out more here: https://www.enhanceservices.com.au/office-cleaning-melbourne/
Clear and compliant signage will not only inform your customers and visitors of their obligations, but also assists to keep your employees safe at their workplace. COVID-safe signage and templates can be downloaded here for you to print out and use as suitable for your workplace.
Depending on the nature and size of your business, the addition of a security concierge has also been an increasingly popular solution. Whilst the typical role of a security concierge has included tasks such as answering the phone, deterring crime, providing directions, incident reporting and getting help in a crisis, these different times have seen the security concierge role take on additional responsibilities to support workplaces, including implementation of COVID-safe processes, conflict resolution, expert advice on managing security risks and the highly valuable addition of peace of mind for employees, meaning they can return to the office feeling safe and can get on with their job.
If you are interested to find out more about security concierge services and how Excell Security can help protect what matters to your workplace, give us a call today!
