What to Do When Opening Up for Business Again – Covid-19 Checklist

As we exit lockdown, preparing for the re-opening of your business should be done sooner rather than later. Here is quick checklist list of actions to take before you open your doors again.

Prepare your employees

Identify staff members that you will bring on board. List which employees you need back and when, and get in touch with them.
Confirm that they’re in good health to work. Ensure that they’re available and healthy enough to work.
Schedule and distribute their upcoming shifts. Once you know who’s willing and able to go back to work, map out their schedules so everyone is on the same page.
Include health and safety talking points in your daily huddles. Keep health and safety top of mind by constantly reminding your team on the importance of proper hygiene and social distancing. If you’re implementing new policies in-store, always remind your team to enforce them.
Post signage at time clocks, in employee break rooms, and in cloakrooms. In addition to verbal reminders, written materials can ensure that your team prioritizes health and safety in your store.

Prepare necessary equipment, supplies, and technologies

To ensure that your office runs smoothly, make sure that all the required services, supplies, and technologies are up and running.

Check that your physical location is good to go. Inspect your office to ensure that it’s safe for reopening. Did anything go amiss while you were away?
Confirm that the utilities are working. Check your electric, water and gas to ensure that they’re in working order before you reopen.
Don’t forget about the phone and internet. The same thing goes for your phone and internet connection, as it’s more important than ever to stay connected.
See to it that your security equipment is running. Test your security system (cameras, alarms, etc.) to ensure that they’re in working order.
Make sure your POS and retail management systems are good to go. You need to be able to ring up sales and serve customers efficiently, and your business needs to be armed with a working POS to do that.

Implement post-COVID-19 health and safety measures

Take steps to protect your staff and customers when you reopen your business. Here are some ideas.

Display signage outside the store. Set up signs at the entrance ensuring they are displayed prominently,
Have in-store signage reminding people about physical distancing. In-store, have signs reminding people to keep their distance. Consider adding markers on your floor, so people know where to stand when queuing.
Provide your employees with protective equipment like masks and gloves. Give your employees personal protective equipment so they can limit the chances of catching the illness.
Install protective glass at the serving points. If possible, set up plexiglass at the checkout areas.
Increase the availability of hand sanitisers and wipes. If possible, give customers and staff hand sanitisers and wipes so they can clean their hands on entry and around the office.
Frequently clean high-touch areas. Double up on cleaning and sanitising by frequently wiping down high-touch areas.
Limit visitor capacity. Keep your business space from being too crowded by limiting the number of people who can enter at any given time.
Adjust opening hours. Consider changing the hours you open to give your staff and customers flexibility.

Get the word out !

You need to drive awareness and traffic to your business when you re-open. Tell people that you’re open, what you’ve been up to, and why they should come back.

If you require any assistance with your phone and broadband services as you prepare to return, just call Trio Telecom on 01727 221303.