As we enter 2022, it seems that COVID is just not about to give up. Employee health check has become a necessity to ensure a safe work environment. The pandemic has taken a toll on businesses, especially in the restaurant industry. Although digital transformation has enabled many restaurant operators to adapt to the changing environment, the importance of ensuring employee health cannot be ignored.
Based on the market dynamics experienced in the last two years, every business needs to be prepared for almost any outcome. They need to have measures in place for ensuring employee health and also for responding to market changes in a timely manner. Even the FDA has plans to continue to build, strengthen, and implement strategies that help ensure it is prepared for, stays ahead of, and responds to, any type of future emergency.
The vaccine mandate
While there is no official mandate for workers to get fully vaccinated or be tested weekly to operate at the workplace, one cannot ignore the importance of following these directives as a precaution. President Biden’s vaccine or testing mandate is being scrutinized by the US Supreme Court and the actual implementation seems doubtful. Although the proposed mandate is for large organizations with a minimum of 100 employees, a nation-wide acceptance could impact smaller organizations as they would have to follow the directives eventually.
Despite uncertainty about the mandate and whether it will survive a court challenge, coffee giant Starbucks will “strongly encourage” its employees to get vaccinated by Feb. 9. Those that don’t will have to pay for their own tests. While this may be a bold move, most operators are hesitant about implementing such a regime out of fear of losing their employees. Employee turnover has already been a difficult challenge in the QSR industry and the trend showed an increase during the pandemic.
The latest Covid variant, Omicron, might not seem to be a threat at the moment. However, it would not be wise to underestimate the effects of another Covid wave, especially when most sectors are still recovering from the aftermath of the previous ones. Businesses should not wait for a mandate to implement a health check program that would help in ensuring a safe working environment for the employees.
Workpulse employee health check 2022
In response to the first Covid wave and as directed by top QSR brands, Workpulse had launched a custom Health Check form as part of the Brand Standards & Food Safety Compliance solution to enable restaurants to monitor the health of their employees at all locations. It helped our subscribers to get real time data of health status at their restaurant locations. The metrics allowed the executives to manage the schedules of their employees in order to accommodate the work despite a few employees not meeting the required parameters.
After reviewing the conditions in the last year, and analyzing possible challenges in 2022, Workpulse has developed a custom Health Check Module that will enable organizations to document the vaccination status of their employees in addition to recording weekly Covid test results (as applicable) and conducting daily health screening.
The solution enables individuals to submit their own data for review or managers can conduct the review for their team members. The best thing about the solution is that you do not have to download any app to get started. Simply access it using a URL and submit the information.
Team Screening – Workpulse Employee Health Check 2022
While the solution is easy to access on any mobile device, executives can access it on the web to review detailed reports for their organization. Not only will this help you to monitor health in your organization, but also have a documented and verified trail in case they are required to present it during an inspection.
Health Reporting Dashboard – Workpulse Employee Health Check 2022
3 steps to implement an efficient employee health check program
While most business operators, especially restaurant owners, have concerns about employees quitting their jobs in case a vaccine mandate is enforced, it is the need of the hour to ensure the safety of all employees as well as guests. The challenge is not the actual implementation of a health check program. In fact, the biggest obstacle is getting the entire team to understand and accept it.
Based on our experience with implementing health check programs in workplaces, we have come up with a 3-step guide to ensure seamless implementation for any organization.
STEP 1 – Proactive communication
A good approach to this would be to take it up as part of a change management strategy and provide proactive communication to every employee before the program is put in place. This should give the management sufficient time to address any concern that is raised by the employees. The intention behind the implementation of a health check program is to ensure the safety of every employee working in the organization. In the best interest of every person in the organization, it is important to monitor the health status regularly.
STEP 2 – Implement a digital health check solution
If you intend to document the health status of your employees, you should invest in a digital solution that provides advanced reporting and also allows you to manage digital copies of required documents. Not only is this highly useful for getting real time data, but also provides a documented trail that can be presented during health inspections. Moreover, it will reduce the dependency on managers to evaluate their team as a digital solution can enable individuals to submit their data directly (pending approval by the responsible person in the organization).
STEP 3 – Engage your employees through recognition & rewards
Organizations can leverage the health compliance directive as an employee engagement tool but recognizing people who regularly provide their daily / weekly screening data. These people can also be given reward points as per the organization’s rewarding structure and policy. By incentivizing regular health screening and educating the team about the importance of these screenings, organizations can change the perspective of this process from a tedious unwanted activity to one that witnesses active participation from everyone.
Ensure a covid-free work environment with workpulse
Workpulse has always gone the extra mile to offer the best services and solutions. Whether you are an existing customer, or you are considering implementing the Workpulse platform for your organization, you should definitely subscribe to the Health Check 2022 solution. Be prepared for the challenges of 2022 by ensuring operational excellence, team productivity, employee health & safety, and customer retention.
Talk to our Product Consultant today to know how you can get started with the Workpulse Platform or get access to the Health Check 2022 solution.
