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Office Facilities Management Checklist - Are you ready to return to work?

Updated: Jun 11, 2021

Post pandemic, the workplace will not be the same. One outcome of the pandemic is that it has accelerated changes that were creeping along the adoption curve, however, many business are sleepwalking into a very risky return to the office. Due to COVID, businesses now must be more aware of their workplace safety, reception efficiency, productivity and visitor experience - to avoid many organisational risks.


In today's blog, we will cover:


NHS England have provided a useful set of recommendations for organisations planning to reopen their offices that are relevant to your reception space. These include:

  • Conducting the compulsory HSE COVID working environment risk assessment

  • Ensuring adequate social distancing is in place

  • Re-deploying staff to lower risk areas (e.g. in a back office rather than at a reception desk)

  • More frequent cleaning of all areas

  • Ensuring PPE government guidelines are adhered to

Types of Risks In Facilities Management


Facilities Managers must be aware of the types of risks that the pandemic has created, and in turn consider:

  • Not relying on manual processes to get right

  • Not burdening your front of house team unnecessarily

  • Not keeping you or your Legal team awake

  • Not going to ensure you have a very rocky return to work post Easter

Below you'll find a simple facilities management compliance checklist I think it would be wise to ensure are considered, with mitigations in place as you start to bring workers back to the office.


Use this office facilities management checklist in your return to office planning and understand how a visitor management system help you reduce or remove these challenges. We list down types of risks in facilities management to return to work. Some of these items will need the support of other departments, such as Legal, Finance, HR or IT.


1. Compliance Risks

  • GDPR risks - ensuring existing visitor management systems are fully GDPR compliant

  • You set your visitor data automatic purging to ensure compliance

  • Regular visitors opt in to facial recognition

  • Fines - social distancing, PPE and other COVID enforcements

  • Health and safety enforcement orders and spot checks

  • Employer 'Duty of Care'

  • NHS Track and Trace self-isolation(encouraging an employee to come into the workplace and not self-isolate means an employer can be fined over £1000)

  • Remove the risk by using digital visitor management

Read more about how visitor management systems can help you stay GDPR Compliant

2. Risk Assessments

  • Visitor data security

  • Auto purge visitor data after X days

  • Congested reception contamination risk

  • 'COVID-Safe' workplace risk assessment

  • Health and safety executive risk assessment

  • Review existing risk assessmentsif changing office layout/furniture to allow for social distancing, to minimise hazards around the workplace

  • Remove by adding Vgreet capacity

Read more about risk assessments.

3. Technical Risk

  • Visitor blacklist management

  • GDPR

  • Auto delete visitor emails so you do not have GDPR issues, standard within Vgreet

4. Employee Risk

  • Visitor Self Health checks

  • Customise your pre-registration invite

  • Visitor Track and Trace

  • Track visitors in the building on days when "now isolating staff were in"

  • Visitor reception processes (touchless)

  • Visitor reception contamination through congested receptions

  • Ensure Touchless express 3 second check-in with a Vgreet Visitor Management Kiosk

  • Remove the whole risk of a congested reception by adding rapid check-in Vgreet Kiosks with the capacity to check-in 2,500 visitors a day!

5. Reputational Risk

  • Avoid relying on tape, screens and signs

  • Avoid Turning the reception into an emergency zone

  • Avoid creating the opposite of psychological safety for your returning employees

  • Whistle blower risk; you're the one the tabloids will get a photo of, in your reception with staff or visitors queuing.


A simple set of useful calculators are below:

facilities-management-risk-assessment-tool

It takes 20-30 minutes to carry out a simple digital assessment and see where your tailored gains are, risks you can eliminate, visitor experience gains, Book your risk & experience health check here.




Download our office facilities management checklist template hereFacilities Management Checklist pdf




More Resources


  1. The Ultimate guide - What is visitor management system and how can it benefit my business?

  2. Re-engineer your reception step by step your reception step by step

  3. Assess your current visitor experience your current visitor experience

  4. Download free visitor management guide for your persona free visitor management guide for your persona

 

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