While screening and monitoring solutions are fast becoming standard-issue for employees returning to traditional office settings, STANLEY’s Andrew Gibson says companies need to leverage physical identity access solutions to manage the office environment and support employees and visitors’ safety in the workplace. Â
When the pandemic began, companies wanted to keep their operations running and proactively protect the health and safety of their customers, employees, and visitors. Remote environments became the go-to solution to do both.Â
Some businesses pivoted quickly using their current resources and technology. In contrast, others faced numerous challenges to prepare for remote work — such as increasing their license counts for applications and stress-testing their VPNs and bandwidth. And still, others couldn’t adopt fully remote processes instead of adjusting their policies and procedures to create safer in-person environments.
It became clear that, no matter how a business responded, they all had to make long-term changes to secure and manage the workplace of the future. Often, they were fundamental changes, meaning leaders examined interactions in their workplace and asked questions like:
- Which employees should be in the office and when?
- Can visitors enter the office, and if so, how many?
- What vendors need access to the office?
- How can companies increase the distance between in-person employees?
Answers to those questions and more have helped companies operate remotely during the pandemic. And since many businesses will stand by remote work or hybrid structures for a while, it makes it all the more important to ensure your workplace is ready to meet new demands.
Managing Office Space More Intelligently
Managing your space begins with understanding who is in the space and how they use it. Look over your employee, visitor, and vendor schedules and regularly determine who should be in the office. Some employees may only work in-person periodically, depending on their role. For those who need to be in the physical office, set a clear schedule and evaluate your space for how you can safely accommodate your people.
Social distancing will guide all office interactions for the near future. If you have high-traffic areas like conference and break rooms or lobbies, reconfigure them to encourage more distance between people. Also, plan on how you’ll handle surge times, such as shift changes or the 5 p.m. exodus. Those events increase risks to health and safety, so be prepared to manage the flow of people.
You may have too much space, given many offices will maintain mostly remote or hybrid policies for some time. This extra space still needs to be managed and secured. Consider how to incorporate empty space into social distancing measures — employees and visitors could put it to use, or you can station contractors there for the time being. Regardless, set up a recurring time to re-evaluate how you’re using your space and other potential changes to better accommodate your people.
Promoting Prevention and Isolation Policies
Social distancing within the office was an important step to take; fortunately, many companies have taken further steps to protect their employees and visitors. Basic prevention methods like offering face coverings and hand sanitizer and regular office disinfecting sweeps have become commonplace. Companies have produced useful content about proper handwashing and coughing etiquette — and they’ve encouraged employees to self-screen for illness, too.
That said, leaders should also establish plans and procedures for screening and monitoring staff and visitors. This will help them better identify and isolate those who show symptoms of illness or who may have been exposed to it. It could be something simple, like a self-service survey completed before or when a person arrives on-site. Technology like human temperature screening, done manually or automatically, can augment a prevention policy with health data.Â
Ensure you have a procedure ready should an employee or visitor show signs of illness — such as how to handle additional screenings and manage a visitor’s health information. Companies will also need a process and workflow management for employees and visitors who self-report potential illness.
Learn More: How the Right Work Management Approach Can Help Businesses Achieve Digital Resilience
Back-to-Work Technology Solutions and Integrations
A head-spinning amount of technology had arisen in efforts to meet the unique challenges of the modern workplace. Companies have explored options like Physical Identity Access Management (PIAM) platforms, visitor management solutions and access control integrations to meet new demands. They allow managers to automate many of the new workplace’s needs, like visitor management, employee access, and screenings — all of which are incorporated into customizable workflows.
For example, a visitor can register to enter an office and receive a self-screening survey the day of their scheduled appointment. Should they report having no symptoms, they receive a mobile QR code to scan at on-site access control points. If they report symptoms, the system could automatically postpone the visit or notify HR for a manual review.
Automation can also assist managers in controlling employee occupancy and flow. For instance, certain employees may only need to be in the office for certain days or times — they can take that same survey and be granted or denied access, depending on the results. It simplifies the screening process while keeping sensitive information confidential and notifying the right people in the workflow. Employees who report symptoms can receive directions on the next steps like additional screening or mandatory quarantine periods.
Other opportunities to automate include using automated temperature screening units that integrate with your existing access control system. Your staff won’t handle individual screenings, protecting them from potential exposure. An automated system can check for skin temperature — if a visitor’s temperature lies within an accepted range, they are allowed access; otherwise, they can be directed to another area for additional screening or denied access.
Successfully integrated tools can generate audit trails to show who had access to which parts of the office and when they were there. It affords another level of security and provides an opportunity to adjust plans and policies. For example, you can review audit trails to get an accurate employee and visitor count and track trends throughout the day. These can pinpoint surge times and congregation points, which let managers better adjust workspaces.
Regardless of which technologies you implement, ensure you have robust policies on the data these tools generate. Denote who has access to data like health information and how it will be used, stored, and protected. This kind of sensitive material is a popular target for hackers, so it’s important to protect it as best you can.
Learn More: Securing Remote Work Tools Without Impacting Business Productivity
Preparing and Managing the Workplace of the Future
Companies will feel the pandemic’s effects on the workplace for a long time to come. It has fundamentally changed today’s work environment and made a long-term impact on what the future of work looks like.
While business leaders will make many adjustments now and in the future, the key is to understand the new workplace and enable success using the right tools, technologies, policies and procedures. Implementing these steps can better protect your employees’ and visitors’ safety and security while maintaining efficient operations and productivity.
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