Getting Back to Business Post-Pandemic: Keeping Your Workspace Clean

To that end, many businesses have been planning for a return to the office and what that might look like for employees and customers, especially when it comes to cleaning and sanitizing their workplace. 

As you begin to contemplate post-pandemic life, you’ll want to keep everybody safe by upholding strict health and safety measures in your building. Here’s how you can ensure your business is clean and properly sanitized for your employees and customers.

1. Follow CDC guidelines.

When evaluating how to prepare your business to reopen and maintain safe practices, it’s best to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations. The same precautions that we’ve been taking during the pandemic, such as frequent hand washing, wearing masks, keeping six feet apart, and cleaning commonly used spaces, should still be in practice in your post-pandemic workplace.

Employees’ work areas and spaces that are frequently used should be cleaned on a regular basis. When cleaning and disinfecting the spaces, people should wear disposable gloves they can discard and wash their hands thoroughly after. Surfaces should be cleaned with soap and water first, then disinfected, followed by dried with a clean rag or paper towel.   

Any communal soft services, such as couches, chairs, carpets, and rugs, should be vacuumed and cleaned with soap and water regularly. They should also be laundered routinely based on the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Commonly used electronics, such as a keyboard, tablet, or even a light switch, should have a wipeable cover on it or disinfecting wipes nearby to disinfect. 

Of course, it’s also important that any employee who is not feeling well stays home, even if they don’t suspect it’s COVID-19. If your business is able to operate remotely, there should be a plan in place for employees to work from home if they’re feeling under the weather, but still able to work.

2. Develop your cleaning and sanitation plan.

Leaders and managers should start creating a plan ahead of time of how they’ll regularly clean and sanitize their offices. Review with your operations team what needs to be cleaned regularly, and develop a plan that includes a robust and routine schedule for cleaning services in common areas. If allowed, safely walk around the office and common spaces to visualize what needs to be cleaned and what should be prioritized, then determine what kind of cleaning products will be used. 

In order to implement these procedures, businesses will need to make sure they have the proper amount of cleaning supplies available. Those in charge of following through on the plan should ensure cleaning supplies and PPE are consistently delivered to the office. They should also create a routine schedule so that their supply never runs out, as opposed to ordering these resources as needed. The plan should also clearly state who is cleaning what and at what time. 

Ideally, your business should partner with a trusted commercial cleaning firm that can provide consistent deep cleaning and sanitation services in between your daily office cleaning activities. This will help provide peace of mind to your employees and customers, who want to know that their health and safety is your top priority.

3. Implement your plan and educate your employees.

Once the organization’s leaders and managers have approved your plan, share it with every employee. Notify those who will be directly involved in cleaning and disinfecting, and have a conversation with them to make sure they’re comfortable with these responsibilities. 

Keeping an office clean and healthy is everyone’s responsibility. Before returning to an office, hold a phone or video conference discussing the plan to return to the office and your new cleaning measures. Train everyone on these cleaning habits so they can pitch in and do their part.

4. Maintain and revise procedures.

As employees return to the office and business continues, monitor the effectiveness of your cleaning procedures. Ensure that prioritized areas are being cleaned as frequently as the plan states and that all employees are following the most up-to-date CDC guidelines. Remember, your procedures can always be revised and adjusted, so always keep an open mind to ways to make positive changes that keep your employees and customers safe. 

The most important part of any cleaning plan for a business is that it is regularly followed. These practices only keep people safe and healthy if they are upheld regularly. By cleaning these areas with soap and water, as well as disinfecting it, you’ll prevent the spread of germs from one another, thus preventing any illnesses.

If you’re preparing to return to the office and would like your area to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, contact the cleaning experts at Scalzo. We offer professional commercial cleaning services as well as all the cleaning products and disinfecting solutions you’ll need to implement your new plan.