HR Managers and Directors find themselves facing the uniquely daunting task of getting employees back into the office safely. See how Genea’s own HR Manager uses Genea’s Safe Workplace to streamline the process.
“Before Safe Workplace, I was using a spreadsheet to track COVID screening questions and answers; the times people came into the building and left the building; and who they might have been around. But now, it’s all simple and in a portal. I can pull data up at any time. I don’t have to track these things anymore.”
-Christine Doane, Genea Senior HR Manager
The prospect of returning to the office seems more probable now than it has since COVID-19 began. But how to safely bring employees back is another matter. While HR Professionals may find planning for a return more predictable than the mad scramble to work from home, new challenges still exist.
Reshaping the HR Manager Role
When COVID-19 warnings first began in the United States, the proverbial clock started ticking for HR Managers. The ethos became “make remote work work or shutdown.”
“When COVID first hit everyone thought, ‘We have to get back in the office as soon as we can because we’re not going to be as efficient or successful as a company if we’re all working remotely,’” said Christine Doane, Genea Senior Human Resources Manager. “But then, very quickly, people realized they were successful, and they were still being efficient.”
If a silver lining to the pandemic exists, it is that many companies (and their employees) have realized the benefits of working from home. Still, many crave at least some in-office interaction. Cloud-based access control combined with a touchless visitor management experience is becoming even more popular thanks to the pandemic. But to safeguard the office, HR Managers need help. This is where Safe Workplace comes in.
HR Superhero: Safeguard with Safe Workplace
Genea’s Safe Workplace feature is built within its access control platform and is dedicated to keeping employees safe. It allows HR Managers, or admins of the platform, to create COVID health surveys with customizable questions, enforce capacity limits and perform contact tracing and temperature checks.
“The idea came from a couple of larger customers asking Genea how we could help implement some of their safety protocols,” said Genea Product Manager Matija Abicic. “The companies made two requests. First, they needed a method of verifying the capacity within their facilities. Second, they required an efficient and accurate way to check the daily health of employees.”
“Go Bananas” with COVID-19 Health Questionnaires
HR Managers begin by setting office capacity limits and creating health questionnaires. Each time an employee requests access to the office, they must fill out the questionnaire on their mobile device. The questions should be answered within a specific timeframe. For example, employee Chip Poncé wants to visit the corporate office of Bananas for Bananas. The HR Manager Aura Ga-Tang customizes the questionnaire and specifies when Mr. Poncé must complete it (i.e., between two and 24 hours before access). Once Chip answers the questions, his access credentials will be restored (pending his responses), permitting him access to the parking garage, building and office for that day.
Remote Management Using the Safe Workplace Dashboard
Safe Workplace is a feature of Genea’s cloud-based, access control system. HR Managers can view the robust, user-friendly dashboard while working from anywhere. For those responsible for enterprises or multiple facilities, warehouses, or retail spaces, Safe Workplace grants the flexibility to view all sites.
“As an HR Manager who oversees multiple building locations, I can have office administrators add all the different sites,” Doane said. “The administrators can see the data for their specific site, but I see the data for all sites.”
Admins can filter results by employee name, date of access and the area of access. If Chip visits the office but later falls ill, Aura can quickly search and determine who else was in the office. Then, she can alert the employees who had come into contact with Chip.
Safe Workplace also empowers HR Managers with precise tools like Capacity Planning. For smaller spaces in a facility, like Bananas for Bananas’ breakroom, Aura can lower the capacity limit. If Aura selects a maximum of two people and a third employee attempts access, the credentials will be blocked. Access denied!
Get Back to the Office Safely
Genea uses Safe Workplace at its corporate and satellite offices. The company implemented Safe Workplace to ensure employees feel comfortable returning.
“It’s been received really well,” Doane said. “There haven’t been a lot of questions which is great, and people have been able to learn it quickly.”
Whether using a hybrid model or planning a full return to the office, Genea is here to help. Schedule a demo or watch our webinar to see how you can keep your employees safe using Genea’s Access Control Safe Workplace features.
