How businesses navigate their employees and customers through this pandemic will shape their culture and brand for years to come. As business leaders consider reopening offices, it’s essential not only to make the necessary modifications for health and safety but also to build trust with your employees. Here are three tips:

1. Survey employees to understand their needs, concerns, suggestions, and goals in returning to an office environment.

2. Be transparent about your priorities, criteria for reopening, and the modifications you are making to ensure employee health, safety, and success.

3. Take a holistic approach to employee health and safety, considering not just an employee’s experience in the office, but also how they will get to/from the office and any risk factors in their home environment.

Ultimately, a decision about whether to reopen the office will need to be made by company leadership, where information is centralized. But employees are a critical part of the equation, not just at the receiving end of a company’s plan but as collaborators in its creation.

Author: Nathan Christensen

About

Nathan is driving Mineral to transform the delivery of HR knowledge solutions and create unparalleled customer experiences for employers. He has been named a “Game Changer” in the HR field by Workforce magazine and was selected by the Portland Business Journal as a member of “Forty Under 40” class. Nathan’s articles on management, human resources strategy, and public policy have appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, Fast Company, and Workforce. He’s also been a featured speaker at numerous industry conferences and events. Nathan holds degrees from Stanford University and The University of Chicago Law School.