In this post, we’re going to talk about seven tactics you could use in your business to promote social distancing. In the wake of COVID-19 crisis, social distancing has been the primary strategy for avoiding exposure, and you want to create a safe environment for yourself, your employees and your customers.
Educate your customers and employees
Our first tip is to arm your customers and employees with more information. It’S really important to educate everyone on how and why social distancing works. Public Health England offers a number of printable fact sheets that you can display at your place of business, informing people about the need for social distancing and how diseases like COVID-19 are transmitted.
Avoid large scale events
Number 2 Postpone large-scale events or stream them online. As recommended by Public Health England it’s in the best interest of public health to cancel or postpone large scale, in-Person events like conferences, sporting events and concerts and gatherings of more than 10 people are not recommended, so musicians, churches and businesses that require an audience might consider streaming their concerts and their services online, And you might wan na use YouTube, Live or ViewStub as a way To broadcast yourself or events.
Use virtual meetings
Number 3 Replace in-person conversations with virtual ones. Instead of meeting face-to-face meet virtually. In most cases, it’s not too difficult to use an online platform to replace a simple meeting with a video conference or a conference call. If it’s a small committee meeting, try free versions of Google Hangouts, Slack and Zoom, If you need to host a webinar or a large meeting, try Microsoft Teams Live Events or GoToWebinar
Even better transition to remote work setup If any of your employees can do their jobs from home. Let them work from home. Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon and Godaddy are just some of the companies enacting more flexible work from home policies. For some roles, remote work even leads to increased productivity. So don’t worry right now about productivity loss.
Use online services for social distancing
Number 5, Lean on online services. When possible, Starbucks recently transitioned to a to-go only model to reduce foot traffic. A lot of restaurants around the country are shifting to a pickup-only model, not allowing anyone to dine in
Retail stores, including some liquor stores and grocery stores, are adopting a similar model. Then you can either ship them or walk products out to customers when they drive up.
Shipt.Com is a delivery option for groceries and other large retailers. In an effort to help restaurants Uber Eats committed to supporting the restaurant industry by waiving the delivery fee for more than 100,000 independent restaurants across the US and Canada on UberEats.
For social distancing use less cash
Number 6 Reduce cash handling. The era of cryptocurrency and digital wallets is nearly here, but in the meantime I know many people still prefer cash right. However, Public Health England recommends avoiding high-touch services like door, knobs and tables. Of course, paper money and coins which changes hands multiple times per day, is one of the most high-touch surfaces around. As a temporary measure for brick and mortar locations, just reduce or eliminate cash handling Instead use tap-based payment systems or digital payment systems. Whenever possible, consider PayPal, Venmo or even Apple Pay and Google Pay as a way to avoid handing money.
And finally, Number 7 Stagger customer flow.
If you absolutely have to bring people into your store, consider monitoring the amount of people allowed in the store at any given time. The less crowded a store is the less likely you’ll have people in close proximity as customers wait in line. You could put down markers on the floor six feet apart to remind them of social distancing. I have also seen a lot of stores offer special times for pensioners to shop before the general population as they require extra care during these challenging times.
We hope that this post will help businesses and entrepreneurs continue to serve their customers safely and effectively.
