Commentary From Crisis Management Expert Edward Segal, Author of the Award- Winning Book Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies (Nicholas Brealey)

Filling a void created by courts and local, state and federal governments, many employers are enforcing their own Covid-related policies and procedures. Last month, the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's vaccination and testing mandates for employers with more than 100 workers.

A new survey released in Janaury by Upcity found that 81% of employees said they are required to wear a mask at all times in the office and that 83% must have a vaccination card.

UpCity used Pollfish to survey 600 business owners and employees across the United States and Canada. The survey was conducted in December 2021 and has a margin of error of 4%.

Mask and vaccination card mandates are only a few of the many Covid-related policies business leaders have implemented. The first decision to make about new office rules and requirements, of course, is to what extent employees will work offsite.

Dan Olson, CEO of UpCity, said that "Business owners and managers really need to determine if they are going to be an in-person first or remote-first organization. Ultimately, our survey points to the fact that 93% of the workforce is taking remote vs. in-person into account, so if you don't have a long-term remote strategy you better figure one out quickly!"

Ideally, companies and organizations should think through and implement their Covid-related policies and procedures in a thoughtful, planned, and deliberate manner.

Practicing What They Preach

John Dony, senior director of thought leadership at the National Safety Council, a nonprofit safety advocate that seeks to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death.

He recalled that the organization first formally notified its staff about Covid-19 on January 31, 2020. "Internal discussions about implementing new safety protocols started in February, and we formalized an internal response team on March 3, 2020," he said.

"This group's first action was to immediately restrict travel starting on March 4, 2020. They then met daily to discuss additional decisions such as going fully remote on March 18, 2020. The transition was fairly smooth considering how abrupt and uncertain the situation was."

Accommodating Employees

He said that, "The biggest hurdle was in accommodating employees who worked from desktop computers and/or relied heavily on paper files. The internal response team quickly was able to order equipment and supplies to minimize disruption to these individuals' work.

Playbook

"We published an internal Covid-19 playbook, and have continued to meet bi-weekly with the internal Covid-19 response team to regularly update workplace safety protocols, including safety countermeasures that include masking, distancing, sanitizing, and updating ventilation systems in offices."

Changing Travel Protocols

Dony said that, "Our travel protocol throughout the pandemic has changed, but has been decided using a risk-based approach, and always follows the most recent CDC guidance before each event. In the fall of 2021, we implemented a vaccine requirement for all employees and have achieved a 98% vaccination rate. 

Advice For Business Leaders

Once a company decides to implement their own Covid-related policies, there are best practices to follow in writing and introducing them.

Lewis Eisen is an expert on writing workplace policies and serves as a consultant on how organizations can best position Covid-related policy changes. He noted that, "Many companies have introduced policy changes in response to new demands placed by the pandemic, mostly in the area of conditions around personnel reporting to work and the use of company equipment in home offices.

"When these new policies were introduced, some companies found that employees were receptive to the changes, while others encountered so much resistance that it put stress on the working relationships," Eisen observed.

Increase The Chances Of Success

He said that the "Chances of success when implementing these policy changes can be increased if the company does it well. A good approach means that you:

• "Word your policies in a positive way, so that you sound helpful rather than dictatorial, e.g., 'Employees are eligible to return to the office when fully vaccinated' instead of 'Employees must be fully vaccinated before returning to the office.'
• "Tie your policies directly to positive corporate values, such as safety, teamwork, and cooperation instead of making them about obedience and control.
• "Don't word things divisively when you don't need to, e.g., saying 'employees must wear masks at work' distinguishes management from employees for no reason other than to reinforce the pecking order. 'We' statements are very good at promoting a team solution to problems: 'We wear masks in the workplace' is an inclusive wording that avoids the parent-child dynamic of traditional office rules.

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