(Akiit.com) Whether you work alone, employ a small team, or manage a large group across multiple locations, you now have a responsibility to protect them from Covid-19 and to reduce the risks of infection in your workplace. If you are open to the public, you also have a responsibility to them. In theory, every business should be taking the right precautions to protect its customers and employees without thought. It should have just become part of a manager’s job. Unfortunately, however, that isn’t the case. Some companies aren’t doing enough to prepare their workplace for welcoming back customers and staff.
These companies don’t just risk infection and illness. They also risk their reputations as a business and as an employer. Right now, people are being careful. They are taking precautions, and they are still feeling a little unsure about the world. Going forward, we can expect customers and potential employees to look at what restrictions and guidelines we are putting in place. The companies that continue to grow, 
despite the economic downturn, are bound to be those that make their staff and customers feel safe and show clear evidence of having taken the virus seriously and of having done their best to slow its spread. So, let’s take a look at some of the ways that you can prepare your business for the new world.
Use Your Time Well
Many businesses are still closed or running at a reduced rate or capacity, and this could continue for some time. Most of your customers will be happy to wait if it means that you take the time you need to make your business safe. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use your time wisely.
Take the chance to improve your décor, to install a wifi temperature sensor to fridges and other cold storage, to run inventive new marketing campaigns, and to try new things. Make sure when your business does reopen, or return to previous levels, it is at its best.
Make Safety a Priority
Safety needs to be your number one concern. This might mean installing screens, painting social distancing markers on the floor, and changing your layout to allow your staff to sit further apart or your customers to walk around comfortably. It should also mean installing sanitizer stations and increasing cleaning, particularly at common touchpoints, such as door handles and switches.
Reduce Numbers
Reducing numbers is tricky. Obviously, you want your business to make money, which is harder with fewer staff or customers. But, it’s more money than you will make if you are forced to close down due to an outbreak.
With staff, consider remote working options and staggered shifts to minimize contact. With customers, if the nature of your business allows, a booking system can be an effective way to control the numbers while keeping everyone happy.
Don’t Stop
One problem that we are seeing commonly is that businesses may be putting measures in place for their grand reopening, but they aren’t enforcing them, or they are resting on their standards going forward. Make sure you check in with yourself from time to time, and that you keep standards high.
Staff Writer; Steve Ford