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Updated on October 17, 2022
The covid-19 pandemic is affecting each and every one of us across the globe. Businesses are closed while others have had to dramatically adapt the way in which they work. While lockdown measures have been in place across Canada and the USA for some time now, we are finally starting to see an end in sight with some lockdown restrictions being loosened across many different provinces. For example; in Ontario, seasonal businesses are starting to re-open while in Quebec some retail stores have begun to re-open. Across the USA, some lockdown measures are starting to be relaxed with parks and beaches beginning to re-open in different states such as Mississippi, Ohio and New Jersey.
While business might be a long way from returning to normal, you should be preparing to resume business operations in some form.
In order to get back to work successfully, preparation is key as new challenges are presented. How you get back to work will depend on whether you have been operating fully, operating on a limited basis or closed completely however these top tips from Citron Hygiene should help you get your business back on track!
Top Tips from Citron Hygiene
Prepare for Social Distancing
Social distancing is going to go on for some time in a post-covid-19 world. If you’re a business owner, you will need to take the time to consider how you are going to implement social distancing measures as every business is different. Your employees and guests may only be able to observe social distancing if your service offering is reduced or you stagger working hours for example. If you’re a restaurant business, you may have to remove some tables or display signs to make sure some are not used. Taking the time to review how customers enter and exit your business will be important while you may want to consider purchasing screens to shield cashiers and customers at checkout points. There is no one-size-fits all model – it is up to you as the business owner to make sure you have planned how social distancing will work and communicate to people the changes.
Update Your Google My Business Profile and Notify Maintenance Suppliers
Whether you own a business large or small, keeping customers up to date during these times is very important. People use their cell phones to research and find information about everything and anything these days. This includes searching for information about your business using Google! A Google My Business listing is a great way to engage with your customers and provide updates on opening hours! You can mark your business as closed or open, reply to questions and publish posts. It’s also important to notify anyone who is doing maintenance work or servicing your businesses of your new hours of operations, reduced staffing, and changes in accessibility, they can continue to service your building.
Scheduling and Operations
Preparing to plan is preparing to fail. Prior to getting back to work have you put together a clear strategy and checklist of everything you need to do?
If the way in which you work is changing, you need to make sure your employees are trained on new procedures and changes have been clearly communicated. Do your employees know exactly when they are expected to go back to work and have a schedule of their shifts? These are things that cannot be left to the last minute.
Employee Health and Well-Being
Post-covid-19, looking after your employee’s health and well-being will be more important than ever before. Change can be difficult for employees and a post-covid-19 world will look different and require employees to adjust to a “new normal”. Plan what measures you will introduce to ensure your staff are healthy and well. This could include introducing weekly or monthly well-being check-ins or allowing for more flexible working.
If your business’s sickness policies haven’t been reviewed in a while, this is the perfect time to review them and communicate policies to your employees, so they don’t come into work sick!
Get Social & Engage With Your Customers
At a time when your customers will be online, on their cell phones, computers and tablets, make sure you are taking this as an opportunity to engage with them through social channels and emails. Use your platforms to send out relevant messages about how and when you are re-opening and what hygiene and safety measures you will be implementing.
Make Your Business a Safe & Hygienic Environment
Your employees and guests are going to see hygiene as a top priority moving forward which means your business needs to take proactive measures to ensure your facility is as safe as possible. Don’t let poor planning and poor hygiene standards let you down. Those businesses who take the right steps will do better in the long run. There are some things you will want to do prior to opening and some things you will want to implement long after opening.
1. Clean and Disinfect
Daily cleaning can get rid of surface level germs and bacteria but to really eliminate harmful bacteria, professional disinfection is advised. Prior to opening, make sure your business is a safe space with Citron Hygiene’s disinfection services. Once back to work, regular disinfection of surfaces is advised to stop surface to person transmission of infectious diseases.
2. Order Sanitizing Solutions
As employees start getting back to work and you start welcoming guests, they’ll want to see that you are providing the hygiene essentials they need the most. Order your soap and sanitizing solutions including hand sanitizer and surface wipes ahead of time and make sure you never get caught short with Citron’s service program.
3. Order PPE Waste Disposal Bins
PPE helps to prevent the spread of infectious diseases from person to person and the use and demand for it will be far greater in a post-covid-19 world. The World Health Organization recommends that PPE should be disposed of in a closed unit. All bins should be serviced by trained professional to ensure safety in waste handling. Citron Hygiene offer PPE waste disposal bins and our team are trained to handle this safely and hygienically with our full service program.
4. Move Towards a Touch-free Washroom
Promote the highest levels of hygiene and health in your organization by looking at outfitting touch-free accessories in your washroom. With Citron’s range of touch-free restroom solutions including personal hygiene disposal bins, AutoFaucet, AutoFlush and AutoSoap, your employees and guests will feel safe and the spread of germs will be heavily reduced.
Resources and Guidance Posters to help your business
Citron Hygiene have compiled a number of resources to help your business achieve the highest levels of hygiene and cleanliness that your customers and employees want and demand.
How does your washroom rank checklist?
Understand how your washroom scores on hygiene, how this impacts the user experience and what you can do to improve your business’ ranking. Download the checklist.
Reopening your business checklist
Keep track of what measures your business is taking to re-open or stay open with our handy checklist.
Removing PPE Safely Guidance Poster
Ensure everyone on your facility is removing PPE safely by displaying our removing PPE guidance poster.
Back to Work Webinar with Dr. Chakrabarti
As businesses start to welcome employees back to the workplace, Citron Hygiene held a webinar led by Alison Mahoney (EVP Sales and Marketing at Citron) with Dr Chakrabarti. In this webinar, we take a look at how to prepare your workplace to operate safely, what practices you may need to put in place for this to happen and how you can create a touch-free workplace for your employees, visitors and customers.
Let Citron Hygiene Help You Get Back to Work
As more normal operations start to resume and your teams go back to work post-covid-19, let Citron Hygiene take care of keeping your facility clean and hygienic, enabling your staff to remain healthy and productive.
Citron Hygiene are the experts in building healthy spaces get in touch with us for a consultation to request a quote for any of our services and solutions.
