How Should You Prepare To Open Your Small Business?

There is much chatter about plans to resume some kind of normalcy when it comes to reopening businesses. There are opinions on every side. But the truth is, at some point, we will all need to go back to work. The question then becomes how we can do it safely.

If you want to open your small business when the green light goes, how you will do it? Are you ready to resume your business today?

Plans to reopen your place of business may involve the government telling you how to do your work safely. Restaurants, barbershops, and nail salons will have state protocols on how to serve your customers and mitigate their health risks. 

Even with government involvement in what the health codes are in containing COVID-19, there still should be plenty of your own input in how your work environment will flow once your employees return. Giving these things some thought will help you feel more confident in business going forward.

Open Your Small Business With A Strategy And A Plan In Mind 

Think about the workspace. Is there a way to create more space between employees? How will you be able to keep to the social distancing standards while you are working?

What about your customers? Have you thought about creating space for them if they visit your place of business? You will have to think about how you will safely serve your customers. Set aside time to write down or draw out how the customer service flow will be handled. It is important for you to think about these details before customers come in. You will need to review this plan for customer service delivery when you reopen your small business to your employees beforehand. Allow for their input and suggestions as well. Helping your employees feel comfortable with the reopen strategy will help them feel more confident in being able to do the job well. They need to feel that your plans are in the best interest of everyone involved. 

Have you thoroughly cleaned the workspaces yet? Making sure you clean your place of business from top to bottom with the right kind of cleaners will not only give your employees greater confidence in returning to work, but it is something you can share with your customers as well that says, “We care about serving you safety.”

What is your plan for keeping the workplace clean and sanitized as needed? Write out your plan for cleanliness and share it with your employees. Everyone will need to do their part to keep to the protocols of working safely for themselves, but also keeping their own workspaces up to the level of cleanliness that is needed for safe work in a COVID-19 era.

Keeping Your Employees Healthy Is The Right Thing To Do 

You need to keep your employees healthy to keep your customers safe from COVID-19 transmission. No one can guarantee that no one will ever get sick. That’s impossible. But a commitment to health is the right choice for any small business owner. How are your employee health benefits? Are they the kind of benefits they can count on to be there for them when they get sick? What are the copays like? 

Too often small business group plans have staggeringly high copays and deductibles that keep employees away from healthcare when they need it. When sick people stay away from healthcare because they can’t afford it, they take risks with their health when they shouldn’t. In a time like COVID-19, your employees taking risks with their health will, unfortunately, create health risks for everyone around them. That includes you, their fellow employees, and your customers. 

Rule number one in your office when you open your small business should be that anyone who does not feel well needs to stay home gets be evaluated for exposure to COVID-19. If you don’t currently offer paid sick leave, consider that as an extra incentive to stay home if they don’t feel well. You just may be insulating yourself from disaster. 

Work With The Right Resources To Protect Your Small Business 

Getting the right health benefits for your employees and figuring out how to reopen your small business safely and legally should also involve going to the right places for help. Many small business owners attempt to manage employment compliance and benefits management themselves. Now is not the time to take chances. A PEO is the right choice to guide small business owners in the ways they can keep up with employment compliance and benefits that offer more while keeping costs at a minimum. If you’d like to find out more about how a PEO could help you do more to stay safe when you open your small business, contact us today for a free consultation.