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A COVID-safe solution to Returning to Work

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Whispir Team

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Jun 22, 2020
4 min read
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As the curve of the global pandemic flattens, many countries are beginning to take the first step toward reopening their economies.

Leading health agencies like Australia’s Government Department of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are advocating for organisations to create their own ‘Return to Work’ policies and guidelines.

Policies are designed to ensure not only the health of organisations and stakeholders but for the benefit of the wider community.

While so many organisations are reeling from the impact of COVID-19, the challenge of creating and deploying an effective COVIDsafe, return to work strategy, is an imposing task.

Whispir’s suite of ‘Return to Work’ communication templates empowers organisations to manage their ‘Reopening of business’ strategy with impact.

The Whispir Solution

Whispir’s 'Return to Work' communication templates act as a checklist across three phases to coincide with the government's COVIDsafe guidelines.

Whispir’s communication templates can be used to solve challenges such as:

  • How to inform employees of the approach to returning to the office

  • How to manage a safe and staggered return of the workforce

  • How to manage visitors on-site and keep employees safe

  • How to proactively manage a confirmed case onsite

  • How to keep employees updated on the latest COVID-19 updates

  • How to remind employees about hygiene and safety guidelines

Use Cases in Action: Whispir’s ‘Return to Work’ Templates and the Australian Government’s Three-Stage Roadmap to Reopening the Economy

The rollout of the Australian federal government strategy to return to work is split across three phases.

Each phase is designed to give organisations the flexibility to manage and determine their level of preparedness.

Across the entire strategy lays four underlying principles:

  • Strict adherence to 1.5m distancing and good hygiene

  • Stay home if feeling unwell or have been around someone who is unwell

  • Continuously clean and disinfect communal areas

  • Strict COVIDSafe plan for workplaces and premises

Overview of steps toward easing restrictions:   

Step 1: Reconnecting community: Friends and family, allowing groups of people to be together in homes and in the community with certain businesses to begin reopening.

Step 2: Slightly larger gatherings and more businesses reopening. Higher-risk activities have tighter restrictions. Low-risk businesses to facilitate relative capacity increase. 

Step 3: A commitment to reopening business and the community with minimal restrictions, but underpinned by COVIDSafe ways of living.

COVIDsafe Phase One 

The important first steps are allowing groups of people to be together again in homes and in the community. With some organisations, to reopen.

  • Work from home if it works for you and your employer Workplaces

  • Develop a COVIDSafe plan Government recommendation to avoid public transport in peak hour

'Return to Work' Phase One - Inform

Informing and updating employees on the business plan, and the guidelines

Leverage Whispir’s advisory templates to ensure the confidence of your customers, staff, and suppliers, by keeping them informed on your ‘Return to Work’ policy and company developments. Allowing you to stay ahead of the competition by ensuring your organisation is a safe and secure space.

Provide regular updates to business-critical relationships and the opportunity for them to respond and engage directly with you.

Whispir templates:

  • Staff Advisory

  • Customer Advisory

  • Supplier Advisory

COVIDsafe Phase Two 

Building on larger gatherings and more businesses reopening. Higher-risk activities may have tighter restrictions. 

  • States and territories may allow larger numbers in some circumstances

  • Work from home if it works for you and your employer

  • Workplaces develop a COVIDSafe plan

  • Avoid public transport during peak hours

'Return to Work'  Phase Two - Reinstitute

Arranging how to safely reintroduce employees to the work site

Lead and embrace the new normal by re-establishing your organisation with the tools you need to manage effectively. Equip staff to confirm and update on their health status with digital health screening declarations. Also, manage staffing capacity and shift fulfillment with templates for shift availability and workplace capacity planning.

Whispir templates:

  • Health Screening Declaration

  • Workplace Capacity Planning

  • Shift Availability

COVIDsafe Phase Three  

A commitment to reopening of business and the community with minimal restrictions, but underpinned by COVIDSafe ways of living.

The third and final phase is where it will become so important to have already established a working COVIDsafe strategy.

As employees return to office buildings and worksites, the pressure to manage risk will increase.

Our phase three templates below are designed to take much of the presumption and guesswork out of executing your COVIDsafe plan.

'Return to Work' Phase Three - New ways of working 

Managing the safety of employees once on the worksite

Utilise Whispir’s suite of ‘Return to Work’ templates to aid with your business continuity plan. Automate daily notifications and communications reinforcing your workplace guidelines. Seamlessly connect visitors to your organisation with health screening declaration prompts.

Reduce risk to your organisation with communication templates for confirmed health hazards on-site, hand-held teleconferencing capability, and contactless delivery.

Whispir templates:

  • Alerts and Reminders

  • Onsite Visitation Health Declarations

  • Confirmed Health Risk On-premise

  • In-Hand Instant Teleconference

  • Contactless Deliveries

Whispir’s ‘Return to Work’ solutions aid organisations in staff and customer advisory updates on policy, digital health screenings and declaration tools for compliance, staff rostering and shift management, alerts and reminders functionality, in-hand video conferencing, and contactless deliveries.

To find out more, click on the link below.

Whispir's 'Return to Work' templates

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