Before You Turn The Lights On

Best practices for a return to the office

For many organizations, it's been many months since corporate offices have been fully staffed and the spaces filled with talent. If this is your organization, consider the following best practices captured from around the globe. These tips support the workforce transition from working at home to a hybrid or full-time office space environment.

Establish a virtual or in-person committee to design a return to office plan. One possibility would be to launch or re-launch the original move-to-remote team with representation from across the organization who can also design re-entry plans for employees to return safely and confidently. Take into consideration the need for increased communication and potentially new company policy as it relates to continued remote workers and/or hybrid work opportunities.

Design a communication plan that is consistent, concise and frequent. This is change management at its finest hour. Clear, easy-to-understand information on a timely basis is a way to keep employees engaged and part of the solution as they return to work.

Flexibility is key. Even the best plans designed with employee input and expert advice may need to adjust based on how well Covid is managed in the community. Consider a flexible, phased approach to return, with those most interested, offered the opportunity in the early phases.

Ensure EAP programs are enhanced. Employees have been absent from the traditional work environment for 12+ months, in some cases. Returning to the workforce brings its own set of challenges as it relates to re-learning in person office etiquette, meeting protocol and office interaction. While positive in nature, anxiety and depression may increase among employees as they navigate the new workplace. Mask or no mask? Vaccinated or not? 6 feet of distance in meetings or not? All of these new normals for a work environment coupled with ensuring family obligations stay on track with a parent or guardian now out of the house again, can increase mental health stressors. As an employer, consider over-communicating where employees can find resources to support this transition.

Plan to provide additional accommodations for employees who have school-age children, employees responsible for aging parents and relatives, and/or disabled and at-risk employees. Ask for input from your employee population - do they have what they need? If not, is the request a reasonable accommodation and if so, how long will it take to implement?

Be present. Great leaders are engaged, encouraging and link vision to actions underway in the organization. Be intentional with your communication, actions and presence.
As businesses across the country begin to reopen, navigating the workplace will continually require employers to be resilient, flexible, innovative, and forward-looking when it comes to returning employees safely. Avalere consultants Emily Belowich, Elizabeth Carpenter and Kristi Mitchell, outline 3 steps in addition, for consideration:

"Adapt as you go in the spirit of employee engagement. Be flexible and sensitive to workforce and customer needs, and recognize that many adjustments will need to change over time. With new guidance released at such a frequent cadence, employers need to be prepared to communicate and act.

Take the extra steps to protect your employees. The foundations of employer and institutional prevention are relatively inexpensive PPE; basic administrative controls such as segmenting the workforce, reducing density, and mandating self-deferral from work for those who feel ill; and environmental controls such as physical barriers and the careful management of air exchange and filtration. Ensure your employees and leadership feel protected and safe.

Continue to be mindful of your unique setting. Each organization will have a different set of needs, and only by using data-driven solutions will employers know what will work well based on the risk factors. Ensuring that you have a plan to manage your worksites and optimize space allocation, prioritize employee health, communicate effectively, and maximize contact tracing will allow you to make informed decisions about workforce transitions."

With advance planning, flexibility and open dialogue, leaders can create a return-to-work experience that provides assurance for employees so they can return with confidence.