Supporting Your Workforce
Protect Your Workforce
Navigate the Return to Work
Reimagine
Work
Select a different issue
Protect Your Workforce
Navigate the Return to Work
Reimagine
Work
Select a different issue
Amid COVID-19, companies face the challenge of providing a safe working environment for their employees while continuing to maintain productivity and efficiency. Although some companies may be able to equip their employees to work remotely, businesses where work must be done on-site have other important implications to consider.
Protect Your Workforce
YES
NO
Shift to Remote Work
Can most of your employees work remotely?
CUSTOMIZE YOUR VIEW
Protect Employees’ Health
Lead with Compassion
Shift to Remote Work
YES
Facilitate Remote Access
Evaluate remote access technology and options for remote meetings and video conferencing.
Assess Bandwidth
Determine whether your corporate network can support the surge in remote work.
Protect the Fort
Ensure data encryption, cybersecurity and multifactor authentication are operating effectively, and educate employees on cybersecurity red flags and good cyber hygiene practices.
Ramp Up Tech Support
Prepare for more questions, more confusion and more problems—and ensure your IT team can support the ambush.
Update WFH Policies
Develop new policies and procedures for remote working.
Provide the Right Tools
Implement the right tools and technologies to work productively and collaboratively from home.
Back It Up
Update your data backup and recovery plan.
Scenario Plan
Develop a workforce contingency plan for potential staff shortages.
Support Employee Mental Health
Review the mental health services included in your company’s benefits program, consider investing in supplemental benefits, and ensure employees are aware of the resources available to them.
Empower Employees
Provide educational materials to employees on COVID-19 symptoms, when to seek medical attention and how to prevent its spread.
Update HR Policies
Review policies for paid time off, sick leave and short-term disability.
Protect Employees’ Health
Lead with Compassion
Create a Leadership Plan
Be intentional about creating a robust communication strategy and plan. Thorough, transparent, consistent and effective communication is key.
Show Empathy
Remember that your employees are humans, not machines; show a little lenience toward sudden dips in individual performance.
Offer 1:1 Check-ins
Schedule regular 1:1 check-ins with supervisees to connect on goals and projects.
Maintain Connections
Choose to have calls and video conferences rather than sending emails.
Be Available
Make sure you are available to colleagues and those you supervise.
Over-Communicate
Check in regularly, communicate frequently and aim to over-communicate rather than under-communicate.
Empower Your Leadership
Train and equip your company’s leaders with
the skills and knowledge needed to carry out
your plan.
Scenario Plan
Develop an infectious disease response plan for mitigating potential exposure.
Supply PPE
Provide essential workers with personal protective equipment along with training on how to properly use it.
Keep It Clean
Put cleaning and disinfection protocols in place, following EPA and CDC guidance.
Space It Out
Ensure employees’ workspaces are at least six feet apart and minimize crossing of paths.
Stagger Shifts
Introduce staggered shifts and confirm tiered workforce plans.
Assess Risk
Conduct a workplace risk assessment across all facilities to ensure at-risk employees are adequately protected.
Keep the Workplace Safe
Shift to Remote Work
Create a Leadership Plan
Be intentional about creating a robust communication strategy and plan. Thorough, transparent, consistent and effective communication is key.
Show Empathy
Remember that your employees are humans, not machines; show a little lenience toward sudden dips in individual performance.
Offer 1:1 Check-ins
Schedule regular 1:1 check-ins with supervisees to connect on goals and projects.
Maintain Connections
Choose to have calls and video conferences rather than sending emails.
Be Available
Make sure you are available to colleagues and those you supervise.
Over-Communicate
Check in regularly, communicate frequently and aim to over-communicate rather than under-communicate.
Empower Your Leadership
Train and equip your company’s leaders with
the skills and knowledge needed to carry out
your plan.
Lead with Compassion
NO
Keep the Workplace Safe
Shift to Remote Work
Lead with Compassion
Evaluate Options
Evaluate work-from-home options for employees who can perform their jobs remotely.
Train Employees
Educate employees on cybersecurity red flags and good cyber hygiene practices. Ensure spear-phishing campaigns are conducted to test cyber defense. Conduct periodic cyber incident response exercises.
Protect the Fort
Ensure data encryption, cybersecurity controls and multifactor authentication are operating effectively. Ensure IT provides continuous cyber intrusion monitoring and detection services.
Define a Plan
Define a remote workforce plan for non-essential employees.
Update WFH Policies
Develop new policies and procedures for remote working.
Assess Bandwidth
Determine whether your corporate network can support the surge in remote work.
Facilitate Remote Access
Evaluate remote access technology and options for remote meetings and video conferencing.
Provide the Right Tools
Implement the right tools and technologies to work productively and collaboratively from home.
CAN WE DO THIS?
The question around the right way to “return to work” is top of mind for every business, across industries and sizes. Whether you stay remote for the foreseeable future, phase back to the physical office or return as quickly as possible, your plan should be carefully considered well in advance. With the added complexity of potential second waves or regional hot spots for the pandemic, the importance of agility and an ability to shift resources quickly cannot be understated.
Navigate the Return to Work
SHOULD WE DO THIS?
HOW WILL WE DO THIS?
BACK IN THE OFFICE
CAN WE DO THIS?
Will reopening be consistent with applicable state and local orders?
Will the landlord and/or building manager allow reoccupation of
the office?
Is the necessary supporting infrastructure in place?
Is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required to re-enter the worksite? If so, can we provide it?
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Play by the Rules
Follow guidance from public health and state and local authorities on returning to work (e.g., limited building occupancy levels, office social distancing best practices).
Build a Plan
Develop a plan with a phased approach from a partial to a full reopening.
Keep Your Team in the Loop
Provide regular updates on status of return to work plans so that everyone is on the same page.
Check on Supporting Cast
Confirm offices intending to reopen are safe, clean and adequately supplied, and determine whether supporting infrastructure (food, cleaning, waste removal, security, etc.) will be available onsite.
Equip Your Employees
Determine whether personal protective equipment is required or necessary in order to return to the office.
Is it safe for employees to
return to work?
Can we enable social
distancing in the office?
Are healthy practices feasible?
Are we ready to protect
high-risk employees?
Are there negative financial implications from continuing to support telelcommuting vs. returning to the office?
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Protect Your People
Prioritize employee and customer health in decision making, and err on the side of safety.
Think Outside the Office
Take into account employee commutes—through high-density areas, on public transportation, etc.—as you make decisions on returning to work.
Weigh the Cost
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each office location, evaluating key metrics like historical occupancy, cost per FTE and estimated demand to understand the pros and cons of allowing employees to continue to WFH vs. reopening.
Review Office Leases
For office locations with near-term lease expirations, determine whether it makes sense to negotiate a short-term extension, restructure the lease or terminate it altogether.
SHOULD WE DO THIS?
ANY NO: DO NOT OPEN
ANY NO: MEET SAFEGUARDS FIRST
ANY CONCERNS: REASSESS SAFEGUARDS
Who within the organization has the authority to partially or fully open an office?
What procedures do we have to implement to check for signs and symptoms of illness in employees daily upon arrival?
How should we navigate restrictions on occupancy levels?
How will we communicate health and safety procedures to employees?
How will we handle a potential facility outbreak or resurgence?
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Be Clear in Safety Expectations
Outline the steps for social distancing requirements and new protocols for shared spaces.
Keep It Clean
Arrange for daily office cleaning of highly frequented areas or handled surfaces, such as door handles, kitchen equipment, etc.
Take It Slow
Begin to re-occupy offices in a limited manner to ensure safety and adherence to local guidelines or building regulations.
Offer Choice
Consider allowing some employees to continue to telecommute if they can continue to be productive.
HOW WILL WE DO THIS?
Create an A (and B) Team
Consider splitting teams and staggering entries into the office to reduce crowding.
ANY NO: MEET SAFEGUARDS FIRST
What’s working and what’s not?
When should we phase additional employees back in?
How long are current safety
and social distancing
measures sustainable?
What is our long-term
real estate strategy?
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Transition Over Time
Allow for a period of transition back into the office in order to test systems and environments.
Stay Alert
Ensure that you are monitoring and staying on top of possible resurgences—and be prepared to return to remote on a moment’s notice.
Return to Work in Review
Review the past few weeks of remote working to determine what worked better remotely and what could be improved by being back in the office.
Consider the Big Picture
Think through permanent flexible work changes and what that could mean for your longer-term human capital and real estate strategies.
BACK IN THE OFFICE
With disruption comes the opportunity for growth and progress. It’s time to lean into what has been working, reinvent what wasn’t, and build more agility, flexibility and productivity into work.
Reimagine Work
People
Place
Productivity
Focus on Mission
Realign corporate mission to meet the moment.
People
Get Personal
Provide guidance for professional relationship-building that accounts for changed dynamics.
Serve Others
Reconsider your organization’s ability to make an impact.
Past Is Not Prologue
Create new staffing forecasts based on historical data but without relying on historical assumptions.
Maintain Morale
Evolve cultural and camaraderie-building activities to fit a new more flexible work environment.
Rethink Travel
Reassess “on the road” professionals and opportunities where travel could be replaced by virtual meetings.
Review Professional Skillsets
Continually reassess needed skillsets for a new—and evolving—environment.
Change Collaboration Style
Enable and support online meetings where possible and appropriate.
Work from Anywhere
Plan to accommodate geographic change of employees who can work from any location.
Recruit from Anywhere
Expand your talent pool by recruiting virtually from around the country—or world—for remote positions.
Survey Space
Assess changing workplace space needs to determine ideal physical footprint.
Optimize Office
Rethink the open floor plan and redesign for safety and productivity.
Evolve Expense Policy
Consider evolving gas or parking perks to reimburse Wi-Fi or connection costs.
PLACE
Craft Customer Service
Create new customer service strategies bespoke to individual needs.
Focus on Innovation
Establish an innovation lab for creative approaches to new problems or opportunities.
Accelerate Automation
Eliminate or streamline routine tasks, processes and jobs that can be automated.
Drive Digital Transformation
Increase productivity and identify new revenue opportunities.
Connect in the Cloud
Ensure adoption of cloud-based collaboration tools.
Invest in Infrastructure
Ensure your IT is aligned with long-term strategy.
Shift Shifts
Consider flex hours to allow employees to work at times best for them.
Productivity
return to top
persevere
MAINTAIN
RECOVER
persevere
MAINTAIN
recover
Read our in-depth analysis
Read our in-depth analysis
Read our in-depth analysis