distributing your teams to ensure physical distance.

Once your teams are ready to get back to work, you’ll need to take precautions to ensure your employees maintain the appropriate physical distance while onsite. Here are some things to consider when planning shifts.

switch to non-peak hours

If possible, consider having your employees commute to work outside of typical office hours, so they can avoid rush hour traffic and limit their contact with others.

create a staggered shift plan

Once you have a better idea of the number of employees who will return to your workplace, you can plan the appropriate distribution of space to respect social distancing and avoid crowded spaces. Separate your employees into multiple shifts to reduce the number of people on-site at once. The first shift should end early to avoid contact with workers who are starting the next shift. Wherever possible, try to keep the team composition the same for each shift to reduce the number of people workers come into contact with.

Need help organizing shifts? Our workforce planning tool, Youplan can help you automate shift planning. Learn about youplan

divide teams and distribute workspaces 

Ensure that employees have an appropriate amount of space from their coworkers to maintain appropriate physical distance. Having half your staff come into work in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon is one option, especially if schools and daycare centres haven’t reopened yet. Parents can, therefore, share childcare responsibilities.

plan for lunches and breaks

Consider closing break rooms and cafeterias, or installing barriers to ensure physical distancing when employees are eating. Shut down vending machines. Determine your policies for going off-site during breaks or lunch.

in case of labour shortages 

If you’re experiencing a shortage of personnel in key roles (due to employees who are on leave, caring for children, on sick leave, etc.), you can turn to temporary workers to help fill gaps in core roles.

A recruitment partner like Randstad can support your urgent hiring needs and help you quickly and efficiently fill gaps. Connect with a recruitment expert

Randstad prepared these resources to share best practices to get back to work safely. The information in this document is intended as a guideline only. Please do additional research and consult with experts before making decisions for your business.