Extra Safety Measures Your Business Must Take Post-Pandemic

A worldwide pandemic might have really put a spanner in the works if you were planning to open a business, but this year, many would-be entrepreneurs have been even more determined to make things work.

Suppose you’re starting a business that’s going to be open to the public as soon as that’s safe to do so again. In that case, there are various measures to consider that apply to running a business in a pandemic that might not have been in your business plan.

Deep cleaning

You might not have budgeted for the amount of additional cleaning that you’re going to have to do in order to ensure that your customers and employees are protected as much as possible from coronavirus.

While deep cleaning was typically something businesses did once or twice a week depending on the nature of the business, COVID-19 calls for a deep cleaning every day.

While it may seem cheaper to clean the office yourself, hiring the services of a commercial cleaning company, such as Ideal Cleaning, will leave you to focus on other essential things while knowing your workplace is thoroughly cleaned.

Did you know:

Legislation passed in the United Kingdom means that providing a healthy indoor atmosphere for employees is a legal requirement. The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 stipulate that health and safety procedures involving the cleanliness of ducts and other structural components of a commercial building are imperative.

The best way to make sure you are compliant is to hire duct cleaning and maintenance specialists who make sure your workplace has no ducts, which can negatively impact the air circulation within your building and cause poor quality air leading to mould, bacteria, and a range of other indoor pollutants.

Fire safety

They don’t cut corners on health and safety

Health and safety at work is often ignored in startups. 

Take care of your people as well as you take care of your cause.

Reminding your team of essential health and safety protocols, such as what to do when the fire alarm sounds, is critical. 

There are some fire safety elements you need to keep on top of when you are setting up your office, such as fire alarm installation and ensuring that you have the necessary number of extinguishers.

You’ll also have to carry out a risk assessment of the office as a whole to check it is safe to work in.

Hand sanitising stations

Hand sanitising stations were not a common sight in businesses pre-COVID19, but now you’d be hard-pressed to find a company that doesn’t have an option for customers to clean their hands at the front of the store.

If you’re starting a business that has a physical location and will be serving customers in-person, it’s important to think about adding an option for them to clean and sanitise their hands at the entrance.

You can get automatic hand sanitising stations that are the safest option as they don’t require customers to touch them before sanitising their hands. Don’t forget to budget for the hand sanitiser itself as you’re probably going to go through a lot.

Safety screens

Screens and clear barriers have quickly become a common sight around the country thanks to the pandemic. COVID screens can be an ideal alternative in shopping situations where social distancing is difficult, such as around the checkout area where customers and staff are going to come in close proximity of each other.

They provide a protective barrier against droplets from the mouth and throat even when people are closer than two metres together.

A decision to invest in hygiene screens around the checkout area is a great way to keep your employees as safe as possible when they are going to be coming into close contact with several people in a day.

If you want to go ahead with your plans to open a business in a physical location during the pandemic, it’s important to consider the extra work you’ll need to put in to ensure that it’s COVID-safe.