Ways to Protect Your Retail Staff During the Coronavirus
Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, many businesses have been worried about protecting their employees whilst they’re at work during this time. Thankfully, the majority of people are able to work from home, however there are still essential workers that will be going about their daily lives as normal helping the general public and the number of those working from home will only continue to dwindle down as lockdown measured begin to ease.
Whether you own a food retailing store, a petrol station or any other type of customer-facing shop you may be wondering what you can do to ensure that you are protecting each and every member of your staff. To help struggling on how to tackle this situation, our team here at VKF Renzel have put together a helpful list of things you can do as an employer during COVID 19 and beyond.
Keep on Top of Cleaning
All stores have standard cleaning rotas and one of the easiest things you can do at a time like this is to increase the frequency in which you’re cleaning all areas and surfaces that are touched by both staff and customers. Update your cleaning rotas, further training and ensure that all employees know about how regularly and exactly where they should be cleaning.It may be worth investing in some additional Acrylic Stands to display signage relating to cleaning and disinfecting in store. These stands are really easy to keep clean and they can inform both staff and customers instantly of the new changes implemented in the premises.
Install Additional Protective Equipment
One of the things that puts your staff most at risk is their interaction with customers. Often, the most interaction happens at the checkout area, so for this reason you should recognise the importance of installing some additional protective equipment here. Take a further look at our range of Sneeze Guards, in particular the Sneeze Guard for Checkout which has been manufactured specifically for use within your checkout area.Depending on the type of products that you sell in your store, it may also be worth looking into additional smaller protective guards too. There are many Acrylic Freestanding Guards that can be used to protect your products from prying hands, as well as your staff, particularly when selling fresh food and similar goods.
Update Store Signage
An incredibly easy way to protect your team is by increasing communication to your customers, without human-to-human contact. Ensure that everyone entering your premises understands the new procedures you’re putting in place to protect everyone. Update your store signage both at the entrance of the store, but also throughout the store too. A simple A Board or Poster Pockets placed at the entryway are a great place to start.As well as using acrylic stands to display up to date signage, also use Floor Stickers to help enforce social distancing rules. These stickers are best used at the checkout area too, again because this is where your staff may be most at risk, but also where larger groups of people tend to congregate in a store.
Consider Hygiene Stations
Another way you can go above and beyond for your staff is to install numerous non-touch Hygiene Stations, both on the shop floor, but also in staff areas too. These can be areas where busy staff members are able to quickly clean their hands whilst they’re still on the go. It can be a brilliant way to not only ensure your staff remain productive, but that they feel protected at the same time.It will also be incredibly beneficial to get your customers to ensure that they use these hygiene stations when entering your store, as well as leaving the premises to prevent the further spread of germs. This small token will provide your employees (and visitors) with extra peace of mind as they work. Just make sure that this is communicated to all customers, whether verbally or through an informative acrylic stand.
Protecting Your Staff During Coronavirus
We hope you’ve found the above advice useful and trust it will help you to ensure that your staff feel protected during this pandemic. It goes without saying that your employees will appreciate every effort that you make to keep them safe, and whilst putting new proceedings in place would usually take time and planning, anything that you can do immediately at this time should be undertaken.If you’re looking to invest in any of the items mentioned above, please look at the full Hygiene & Safety range on the VKF Renzel website today. From acrylic stands and sneeze guards to hygiene stations and floor stickers, we have everything that you need to protect your team at this time. If you have any questions at all about any of the products on our site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team who will gladly discuss our products with you further.