If you own and operate a business that was deemed non-essential and provides a service to the public like hairdressing, personal training, or a pub or restaurant, you might be thrilled – and a little bit scared – to hear that you have been given the go-ahead to reopen this month.
Whether you have already opened your doors back up to the public or are waiting until you are fully prepared to protect yourself or your customers, there are several things that you can do to ensure that your business is a safe environment in the aftermath of COVID-19. Remember, we still don’t have a vaccine for the coronavirus, so while the world might seem like it’s getting back to normal, there’s still a huge risk.
Personal Protective Equipment
Chances are, you are going to need to use PPE when working for the foreseeable future, in order to protect yourself and your customers. You might also want to require your customers to wear PPE and provide it to them, especially if you are providing a service that requires you to get closer to customers than two metres away, like hairdressing. This Air Queen mask is an ideal choice for small business owners; it has been approved for use in healthcare settings like dentists and is an N95 mask that provides superior protection for both yourself and those around you. Medical facemasks are here to stay for quite some time, and if you are working in close proximity to members of the public, you’re going to want an FFP2 mask. You can learn more by visiting air-queen.co.uk.
Social Distancing Rules
Things are going to look a little different when you finally reopen your doors to the public, and one of the biggest challenges that you are likely to see in your business is the need for social distancing. It’s no longer possible to simply let as many people as you like into your shop or restaurant; you might want to put a limit on the number of customers allowed inside at any one time in order to ensure that social distancing regulations can still be maintained. This may be easier to do through appointment-taking if you run a service like hairdressing, but it can be slightly trickier if you are open to the public – you might want to consider hiring an additional member of staff or use software to manage queues and customer numbers.
Furthermore, if you offer in-home services, awareness and sharing of information are even more important. Before visiting your clients, make sure to get in touch with them, preferably through video calling, to determine if any of their household members are showing COVID-19 symptoms. Then, follow the COVID-19 guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cleaning
Reopening your business in the wake of COVID-19 means that you’re going to have to take cleaning tasks more seriously than ever before. Deep cleaning is the most effective way to kill off the virus and ensure that your business is a safe environment; if you normally do a deep clean every week, you might want to up this to at least once per day, and ensure that cleaning tasks are done more frequently daily. Focus on cleaning areas and items that get a lot of attention, like card readers that several customers are likely to touch – especially if you are encouraging cashless payments.
Meanwhile, if you don’t have plenty of time to perform deep cleaning with your employees or you prefer not to be potentially exposed to the disease, you can hire commercial cleaning services to take care of this undertaking.
Also, professional cleaners are a better option in cleaning your business facilities because of the following reasons:
- They’re more equipped with knowledge and experience in following CDC guidelines against COVID-19 infection.
- You won’t need to buy cleaning tools and materials yourself.
- They can clean your business establishment so you can have a professional appearance.
- Promote a safer and healthier working environment for your company.
- They clean in a regular, timely manner, reducing the risk of infectious spread.
Wrap-Up
If you are planning on reopening your business soon, things are going to have to be a little different for a while in order to keep yourself, your employees, and your customers safe from coronavirus.
One thing’s for certain: you should work hard as a business owner for your venture to emerge stronger after this disaster.
Therefore, take note of these safety measures and make sure to follow them consistently, not just for the sake of law compliance, but, most importantly, to protect everyone who might get in contact with your business.
