5 Things to Do When WFH is Impossible in Your Company

When other companies start to applies WFH, or working from home, there are companies out there that can’t send their employees home, such as manufacturers, government officials, and retails that sell staple food. 

If your company is among these, then you have to apply some new regulations to keep your employees safe. Here are some of them:

1. Make sure the work environment always clean

Coronavirus or COVID-19 spread via contact with an infected person when they sneeze or cough. It also spread when a person touches an object that has a virus on it, then he/she touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.

That’s why it’s crucial to keep the working area clean and tell your staff to wash their hands often. Educate your employees about sneezing and coughing ethics. Clean the floors and places around the working area frequently. Provide more hand washing stands and hand sanitizer if possible.

2. Take care of your employees when WFH is not possible

Previously, your employee had to ask for permission from the HR team or their manager if they feel unwell and need to go home. Now, it’s your job to watch your employees closely and send their home immediately if they show any symptoms. Afterward, monitor their condition to see whether they get infected with coronavirus or not. You can use an HRM System to help you monitor your employees’ sick-leave or absences. 

Many employees hesitate to ask for sick leave, although they already show symptoms. It’s still unclear whether the company will cut the employee’s salary during the quarantine.

3. Review your company’s regulation

Review your regulation again, especially those that regulate salary, sick leave, and employee benefits. You may not give the WFH privilege for your employees, but at least you can give them a little peace of mind while working.

For example, you can give them a full salary for employees that had to quarantine themselves for two weeks because they got infected. Another example, make it easy for them to ask for sick leave if they feel unwell while working.

You also need to review the regulation about business trips, especially for employees that regularly travel abroad. Delay or cancel any business trips abroad, if possible. Tell your employees that have been travel abroad to isolate themselves for at least fourteen days.

4. Apply partial WFH

There are two ways to implement partial WFH. The first one is by letting employees that can work from homes, such as the marketing team or HR. The other department, such as production, still come to work as usual.

But if this can cause a discrepancy among your staff, you can try to reduce the work hours. For example, employees are allowed to arrive late and leave early to avoid crowded public transport.

5. Maintain communication with your staff

Panic and fear are as dangerous as the coronavirus itself. Don’t let your employees struck by fear because more and more people get infected by the COVID-19. Use the HRM system to streamline the communication between the HR team and your employees. Doing so will let your employees get an equal amount of information, not baseless rumors.

Conclusion

There are thousands of companies in South East Asia that already let their staff work from home. But if you can’t do it at your company, then a mitigation plan is a must. Make sure you have the facilities and infrastructure to keep your employees healthy and work productively. To help you monitor your employee’s success you can start by implementing talent management software.