The global spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 is showing no signs of slowing, even if the number of new cases appearing in China, where it originated, seems to have tapered offOpens a new window .
As the virus spreads, with recorded cases and deaths rising in the US, Europe and the Middle East, among other regions, many companies are taking steps to address employee fears and/or actively avoid possible transmissions.
If you’re at a company within the areas already experiencing transmission, such as the state of Washington, or you have a significant contingent of employees who travel regularly and were recently in one of the recently affected countries including South Korea and Italy, it might be the moment to implement either a partial or full remote-working plan.
There are a lot of benefitsOpens a new window to providing employees with remote or flexible work options. However, any plan is best implemented with plenty advance planningOpens a new window and some structural and leadership changesOpens a new window that allow for the new systems to be adopted successfully and without a hitch.
The emergency remote-working plans that some companies are considering in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic are not conforming with the best options, and it’s important to make the distinction between smart and less-strategically-conceived plans clear.
Failing to communicate about how the emergency measures differ from any longer term strategies could lay the wrong groundwork for implementing a remote or flexible working plan in the future. So be clear about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and what kind of timeframes are under consideration.
There are a few other aspects to keep in mind as well:
Don’t cause unnecessary alarm
There’s no need to concern employees unnecessarily or add to fears about the virus. Unless there’s a proven, diagnosed case within the company and the employee has definitely been in the office since contracting the virus, there’s no need to point to any specific reasons for implementing a provisional remote-working plan.
Be clear and straightforward about the risks and rely exclusively on information from official and reliable sources.
Provide options
Each person must decide the choices to make, while it’s the responsibility of each company to provide as many options as possible that will allow employees to feel comfortable.
Especially in tech, it’s relatively easy to move much office work into the digital realm, relying on tools including group chats, video conference calls and old-fashioned email.
Prepare, prepare, prepare
Even if your company offers remote-working options that employees aren’t very interested in, it’s worth preparing in case of an uptick in concern among people in the office or a sudden need to implement an office-wide emergency remote-working plan.
Making sure everyone has the technological hardwareOpens a new window they need to take home with them, that they’re equipped with the agreed-upon software and that they have some basic training in how everything works will help avoid hiccups in case everyone has to move quickly to a remote-working option.
The most important thing is to be certain that everyone at the company knows that whatever happens, there’s a plan in place, and steady leadership at the helm.