Welp MagazineFor anyone running a business during a pandemic, keeping your customers safe is one of your main priorities. Understanding how to protect your customers during COVID-19 is fundamental, regardless of whether you’re a supply chain keeping up with customer demand during this difficult time or you’ve been working from home and are planning on reopening your business shortly. How can you ensure you have a COVID-secure business that meets health and safety regulations? Here, we share 7 essential things you must do to run a COVID-safe business for your customers.
1. Form a risk assessment plan
A COVID-secure business needs a plan of action for handling any potential risks. Determine which areas of the business are high traffic spaces and will need regular cleaning. There will be some surfaces that are barely touched and will only require a weekly clean. You’ll also need to consider what type of equipment and cleaning resources you need. Do you have trained staff who can undertake the cleaning required, or do you need the services of a professional commercial cleaning team? If you have appropriate staff members, do they need personal protective equipment? Consider these questions when establishing your risk assessment plan.
2. Clean surfaces effectively
One of the best cleaning tips for businesses to ensure they’re COVID-safe is to clean surfaces effectively. That means cleaning surfaces with soap and water before using a disinfectant. Additionally, you’ll need to use the correct cleaning products – check the product labels beforehand for instructions on usage.
3. Maintain a regular cleaning schedule
Highly touched surfaces need at least daily cleaning, if not more, including disinfectant, bleaching, or sanitising. These areas will likely incorporate doors, especially handles, phones, IT equipment, payment areas, eating/food areas, flooring, switches, customer baskets, and shopping trolleys.
4. Have spare masks and hand sanitiser
COVID-secure businesses should ensure they have spare face masks for staff and customers, as well as placing hand sanitiser (containing 70% alcohol) in public spaces. Even retail stores should do this to keep their customers safe. Use an automatic dispenser for hand sanitiser to prevent people from touching another surface. You should keep this (and face masks) close to the entrance of your business.
5. Maintain social distancing
Safe businesses must carry out social distancing. This means you should limit the number of people in any given space and ensure there are around 2 metres between them. If you’re a retail business, you can use an automatic traffic light system at the entrance of your store. Alternatively, you may need to have a designated member of staff limiting the number of customers instead. You’ll also need to implement the correct distance between employees while they are working. Create a one-way system around your premises using arrows on the floor to help people maintain proper distancing.
6. Host virtual meetings whenever possible
Social distancing and high safety practices are much easier to carry out when limiting the number of people indoors. To do this, try to host meetings by virtual means whenever possible. You can do this via Zoom, Google Meet or Skype. This type of software is easy to implement within your business and it will ensure your staff and visitors are safe.
7. Sick employees should stay at home
It’s important that sick employees, including anyone exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, stay at home. The same advice should also be given to members of the public, including your customers. While it’s common sense, it’s well worth reinforcing these standards when it comes to keeping people safe and secure. Additionally, you need to act quickly to disinfect areas that infected people may have touched, as well as making sure anyone in contact with an infected person is tested before coming back into work. You should follow government guidelines for details on isolation procedures.
Start managing the risk of COVID-19 today
Now you know how to ensure you run a COVID-secure business, you can start to implement the tips we’ve shared. Every business owner must take the risk of coronavirus seriously. Not only for yourself but for your staff and customers too. A COVID-safe business will keep the general public feeling safe, providing them with a pleasant experience. Just make sure that all staff are aware of the safety plans you have in place to keep everyone free from the risk of coronavirus in the long term.
About the author:
Perfect Clean is a professional cleaning company based in Edinburgh. With highly experienced professionals, they have the capacity to offer affordable and high-quality commercial and industrial cleaning services. They are passionate and committed to keeping everyone safe with their exemplary health and safety practices.
