Creating a COVID-19 prevention culture in my business
A prevention culture aims to reduce the risks associated with any activity. Today, more than ever, it’s importance will be valued by thousands of businesses that will reopen amidst a pandemic. As an owner, you may ask yourself: “how am I going to make sure that my customers stick to the new safety guidelines?” And what about my employees, how am I going to protect them?” The new normal is upon us, so it’s time to start to make the necessary preparations.
Living with COVID-19 among us will be no easy task. Those who will open their businesses will require extra measures to ensure that everyone on the premises stays safe. Therefore, a prevention culture will be instrumental in keeping the spread as low as possible. Promoting and protecting health will require new safety protocols, and the cooperation of workers and customers alike. A COVID-19 prevention culture for your business will need you to consider the following:
Train your personnel
Training will be essential for creating a COVID-19 prevention culture. You will need to develop or adopt a best practices policy that adjusts to every process in your business. How are your employees going to interact with your customers now? How are they going to communicate to them the new guidelines? The investment you put in their training will let them know that you care about their safety.
Communicate effectively
When you reopen, you will have to make sure that your customers know how to act within your business to keep everyone safe. The visual aid will be essential, so consider printing the new safety rules to interact with both employees and patrons. You’ll need to ensure that this communication is understandable and precise, leaving no room for ambiguity or misinterpretation.
See also: How to identify a safe environment establishment in the age of COVID-19?
Take a proactive approach
People and processes make up a prevention culture. Don’t wait for something to happen! Follow your state safety guidelines and make the necessary changes in your business. Your employees will need to commit to this proactive approach; thereby, they will act when a process is not going according to the new protocols. This way, the spread will be minimized.
Involve everyone
Creating a new prevention culture will require you to involve all levels of employees if you have a large business. It will be useless, no matter what they do, if someone is left out. Feedback will also be critical: what will make your employees feel safer? Listening to them can be very productive.
A COVID-19 prevention culture will raise awareness about potential risks. Now you’ll need to demonstrate you’re ready to take your business to the new normal. A collective and productive effort will be necessary to make this possible.
Source: CDC