By: Juliebe Talaroc

Having an effective safety protocol is important, but as we’re facing a pandemic there may be areas you may have to improve upon. Here are ways you can improve your business’s safety protocol.

Provide Safety Training and Give Updates

Create a standardized safety course for your employees. Trained employees will not only help prevent injuries in the workplace but they will also know how to act in case there is an emergency. Some As we all know, accidents happen so that's why proper training is so important. Everyone should be prepared to react and reduce the chance of more injuries. If you already have a safety training (kudos, by the way!) then take a moment to go over your safety protocol again and provide resources they can revert back to if they forget. 

However, in the face of a pandemic, you may have to look to your state for additional safety topics or guidance as they may have a set of guidelines that you may have to include on top of your regular safety protocol. If there is, communicate with your employees of your updated safety protocol. Communication is key, when it comes to preventative care!

Keep Your Workplace Sanitized and Clean

It’s no secret that keeping your workplace clean and tidy is important, but having it sanitized is a whole different story during a pandemic like the Covid-19 crisis. Arrange for your janitorial team to wipe down and sanitize areas like door knobs and tables with high traffic activity. This will help prevent viruses and germs from spreading.

Invest in Protective Gear

Though protective gear is only needed in certain professions like lab work or medical. During a time like the Covid-19 crisis, in order to protect your customers and employees, one of the ways you can prevent transmission of a virus is investing in protective gear. Some of the most popular and most inexpensive is face masks like the 3-ply or KN95. Both will help protect germs and other viruses from spreading, especially from the mouth as coughing it one of the ways the coronavirus is able to leave the body and onto surfaces. There are even tools that can protect both the eyes and face like the face shield. For the hands, there are disposable gloves like nitrile gloves. Providing protective gear will visibly help show that you are committed to their safety and health.

Promote Personal Hygiene

Encouraging your employees and customers to wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap is one of the most supported methods of spread prevention against the virus.  If your employees and customers don’t always have access to soap and water then provide hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Improving your business’s safety protocol is no easy task, but it is necessary to keep your operations going and your customers and employees safe. Comment down below if you have other suggestions not mentioned in this article, we’d love to hear them!