Plan for the BIG return with peopleHum Return to Office

There is no new normal. "Workplaces in the new normal" sure sounded appealing at first, but its unforgiving overuse has already reduced it to a standard cliché. No aspect of a raging pandemic claiming millions of lives seems like an acceptable new reality, not when you see the effort that's been put into cutting the losses, finding a cure, and ensuring the wellbeing of humanity above all else.

The world has changed, regular rhythms have been disrupted. People around the world are trying to bring back a sense of normalcy, and workplaces are attempting to follow suit. However, the only way out of this quagmire is to move forward and not back in time. Now is not the time for re-examining that workplace digitialization strategy that the company board has been sitting on. Digital transformation is the one-way ticket to the future-proof workplace.

To say it plainly, if businesses want to thrive in a new and uncertain reality, they will have to embrace digital transformation. When the pandemic hit, it was clear that most businesses weren't prepared to work through the challenges it presented. It was the reason why pushing millions of employees into remote work was the only feasible option. But today, there are vaccinations and safety & hygiene protocols to protect people, and digital solutions to prepare workplaces for the next momentous scenario.

With the rise in vaccination rates and the fall in infection numbers, business leaders are looking hopefully towards a future where office desks will be occupied. A good proportion of employees wait in anticipation to return to their normal work lives, but are anxious about their safety. How can workplace digitalization manoeuver a safe and smooth return to office?

peopleHum's Return to Office is exactly the right solution for that.

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A safe return with peopleHum's Return to Office

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peopleHum's Return to Office solution (RTO) is built to address the needs of organizations that are focused on employee wellbeing and are planning to bring all or a portion of their workforce back to the office, while keeping compliance needs, legal requirements, and employee health & safety in mind.

The solution is designed to make the transition to office and the overall employee experience to be safe and smooth. This is the peopleHum Return to Office solution and following are the processes that make it the perfect solution for a future-proof workplace experience:

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1. RTO Surveys

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The first step towards a safe return to office is being mindful about the preferences of employees. CEOs, leaders and HR are no longer gatekeepers of deciding who gets returns to office, and who doesn't. With peopleHum's automated surveys, the company HR can broadcast its return to office plans and request employees to take up a survey to gather their thoughts on the matter. The survey would include questions such as:

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• "Are you nervous about returning to work while the threat of Covid-19 remains?"
• "How would you measure your level of productivity while working from home?"
• "If you have been working from home, would you prefer to continue doing so?"
• "How confident are you that your organization will take the necessary steps to ensure a safe and healthy work environment?”

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The survey helps in gauging employee interest, their understanding of the protocols in place, employee wellbeing, and most importantly, identifying the employees who are prepared to return to office.

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2. RTO Onboarding

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If the survey garners a positive response of an employee's return to office, then so begins the employee's onboarding process for RTO. This process begins after employees pass the COVID compliance checklist. This checklist gathers employee responses to questions such as:

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• Vaccination status
• History of contraction
• Travel history
• Symptoms and their severity
• An option for document upload to verify legitimacy

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Once HR determines that the employee is clear, enrolment is green-lighted, and on the day of return, employees are presented with their safety essentials kit.

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3. Employee communications

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With peopleHum's integrated Announcements function, HR and managers keep employees updated important news and developments, reports of untoward incidences and in severe cases, of outbreaks, and maintain an open channel of communication for a transparent and streamlined experience. With increased anxiety levels about health and safety, it is critical to maintain the employee's trust and confidence through transparency in daily operations. peopleHum RTO provides a solution to do exactly that.

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4. Mobile Check-Ins

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Attendance is contactless. Employees can enter their workplace without having to swipe their cards on their way in or register their names in notebooks. With the peopleHum mobile app, all employees have to do is scan the QR code at the office's location to check-in and check-out.

Attendance reports are recorded and sent to HR daily, where they can be downloaded, analysed, and tracked in the case of any untoward incidences reported by managers and employees.

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5. Compliance Reporting

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In addition to the COVID compliance checklist presented to employees before being onboarded into RTO, they will also be subject to periodic welfare monitoring for the duration of their work period. This includes automated pulse surveys that employees receive post the completion of work. These questions gauge their experiences at the office, whether standard protocols were followed and safety measures were undertaken. These reports will also be tracked by the HR department.

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6. Covid System of Record

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Like peopleHum’s automated Human Resource Information System, the Covid System of Record gathers employee, manager and HR activity on a day-to-day basis. These records are sent to HR daily, and enables a streamlined functionality. In the unfortunate event of an employee catching the virus, these streamlined and automated system of records enables the HR to take quick and efficient steps to control further spread and infection.

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Conclusion

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The move to digital solutions is inevitable. The return to office is, too. Organizations around the world were unprepared to deal with the damage inflicted due to the pandemic. The path ahead was and is still uncertain. However, it is clear that safety and wellbeing of human lives takes precedence over everything. Therefore, embracing the right technological tools to ensure employee safety is the way forward towards a future-proof workplace. This is what the peopleHum Return to Office solution offers.