Mb Prepared Part 2: Office Personnel & Guest Policies

For Part 2 of our series on returning to work, our focus will be on Mb’s shifting policies regarding office personnel and guests. In Part 1 our focus was on safety equipment, but we know that new equipment will only take us so far, and that change in policies will point the way forward towards a healthier workplace. Our goal in implementing these policies is to maintain a healthy work environment that will allow us to maintain and gradually increase our physical presence in our office.
The first important step will involve a rotating work schedule for our corporate employees. Under Phase 3 of the District’s recovery, social distancing will still be the required practice, and limiting the number of workers in the office at any given time will enable us to do so. A rotating schedule does not mean that any employee not physically present in the office is not working; rather, corporate employees will alternate between working in the office and working remotely.
While in the office, cleanliness will be of paramount importance throughout the day. Hand sanitizer will always be readily available, and employees will be responsible for keeping their workplaces clean. Upon visiting Mb’s corporate office, any visitor will grow accustomed to seeing our corporate staff wearing gloves, masks and face shields, all while deep-cleaning their workplaces multiple times a day.
Visitors to our corporate office will experience many changes as well. Mb has already taken steps to decrease office visitations, including our company-wide migration to direct deposit. Those visitors who do come to the office should note that the building has instituted a strict policy regarding the wearing of masks upon entry. The same will be mandated for entry into our office. Moreover, temperature checks and hand sanitization usage, will take place upon entry, and anyone who’s temperature reads higher than healthy will not be granted access to the office. Once inside, markers on the floor will help encourage social distancing, similar to those now found in retail spaces.
Mb understands that these shifts in policy will require all of us to adjust, and we’re committed to helping in that process. For new candidates, interviews will, at least for the time being, be conducted remotely. This will promote health and safety and reassure our new candidates that we have their safety in mind as well. Throughout the time of quarantine the talent management team has been developing tools to recruit remotely as effectively as possible.
The latest development in our efforts to implement safe company policies has been our new affiliation with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Created within the U.S. Department of Labor in 1970, OSHA offers training and guidance to companies to ensure worker protection. Until the onset of covid-19, OSHA primarily worked with construction companies. Their reach is now expanding to other industries including our own. Our budding affiliation with them allows us to learn from other companies and solidify our health and safety efforts. In the week of August 10, Mb will be participating in OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week, an annual nationwide event that gives companies an opportunity to share their health and safety programs and learn from one another.
Change is by no means easy, but in these times we believe it is essential. As was stated in the introduction to this series, businesses like ours will need to work towards a happy medium between employee safety and company progress in order to continue to thrive. Once implemented, Mb believes that these new policy initiatives will go a long way in moving the company forward for the duration of the quarantine.
We will continue with the final installment of Mb Prepared next week, which will focus on the future of Mb beyond covid-19. Thank you again for your attention.