5 simple tactics to adapt businesses for Social distancing

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has created uncertain times for just about everyone, including business owners. People are getting a lot of information from a lot of different places, but ‘social distancing’ is one recommendation that just about everybody seems to agree on to help slow the spread of the virus.

The goal is to slow the spread of the disease, “flattening the curve” to give healthcare organizations a better chance of providing care to all the people who need it.

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Whether you’re a small services business like an accounting or consulting firm, a high-traffic business like a financial institution or an entrepreneur of an independent business, here are 5 important actions that you can consider to help keep you, your customers, and the community at large safer while practicing ‘social distancing’ in your business.

First, arm your customers and employees with more information. The CDC offers a number of printable factsheets you can display at your place of business, informing people about the need for social distancing and how diseases like COVID-19 are transmitted.

Second, Physical contact is the fastest and most common way for viruses to spread. Do what you can to limit physical contact between people at your location. Do not shake hands. Do not hug. Find another way to greet people that involves no direct contact – do the cross-arm bump or greet with a Big smile! Everyone understands.

Third, Replace in-person meets to meetings virtually. In most cases, it’s not too difficult to replace a simple meeting with a video conference or a conference call. Pick a platform that will suit your meeting needs. If it’s a small committee meeting, Google Hangouts will fit the bill. If you need to host a webinar or large meeting, try Microsoft Teams Live Events or Zoom meetings.

Fourth, allow remote work and transition to a remote work setup, if possible. If any of your employees can do their jobs from home, let them work from home. The need for many businesses to operate as dispersed teams also presents an opportunity to go paperless. You don’t have to go into the office for a form or report if you can access it remotely.

Fifth, enable flexible scheduling. For employees who must be physically present, consider staggering your work schedules. This way, you can have a smaller number of employees present at your location at any given time.