Is A Hybrid Approach The Way To Return To The Workplace?
Nina Wyers, Marketing & Brand Director at The Floorbrite Group, was beaming with pride as she unveiled the new Floorbrite HQ. Delighted staff couldn’t wait to get inside to explore, but the pandemic was about to grasp the nation. Within days, the offices were closed as we plunged into lockdown. So as workplaces around the country re-open, we were keen to find out how Nina and the team at Floorbrite were solving the question of safely returning their office-based workforce back to their, now award-nominated, offices.
The Floorbrite Group HQ renovation project is a finalist at this year’s 2021 Mixology Awards in London, (the undisputed commercial interiors awards ceremony of the year), for Project of the Year, Workplace Interiors 5 – 15k sq ft. To say we are proud is an understatement, but I couldn’t mention it without saying that it is testament to the hard work of Inactu Facilities Support Ltd and Gary Roebuck who managed and delivered the project.
The project hasn’t gone without its challenges though. On Friday the 13th March 2020 we opened phase 1 of our beautifully renovated offices to our staff at Floorbrite HQ. We were so excited to move into our amazing new open plan space after months and months of the team being split across the offices at our distribution centre whilst the work was being done. However, 4 days later we closed the offices and sent everyone to work from home. The following Monday, the 23rd of March, Boris Johnson made his sobering, Winston Churchill-esque address to the country and the government sent us all into the first of many lockdowns. We didn’t see our beautiful new building again for months.
During the lockdowns we managed to finish phase 2 with some delays in materials due to Covid and the initial restrictions for everyone, but we got there and now have a state-of-the-art building to return to.
Our friends at FMUK then posed this question to me - Wow, you have these amazing new offices, so how are you getting back to work safely and reassuring staff?
As Boris Johnson outlined step 4 of the roadmap for England most legal restrictions to inhibit the spread of Covid-19 were lifted. Social distancing and facemasks are no longer mandatory, remaining closed businesses such as those in hospitality can reopen and events, in the main, can go ahead without a limit on numbers. Although the government advises to proceed with caution, limit the close contact you have with those you do not usually live with and meet outdoors where possible. How is this going to work in practice?
There are multiple viewpoints and opinions. For some businesses, they may be about to reopen for the first time since March 2020 and they could want to start with a phased return. However, Floorbrite have been working a hybrid system for some time (excluding lockdowns) and have chosen to move ahead with the next stage of transition.
From the 26th of July we implemented a four-day week in the office, maintaining a work from home policy on Fridays. This change follows a year of working a two-day week in the office in our work bubbles and three from home. Each bubble either worked a Monday / Wednesday or Tuesday / Thursday rota, with desk occupancy at 50% to maintain social distancing. This worked very well for us and fortunately we haven’t had any positive cases in the office until a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, we couldn’t escape it and one of our employees tested positive.
Everyone was immediately sent home and the office was fully deep cleaned and decontaminated a couple of hours later by electrostatic spraying via our specialist team. Thankfully, our member of staff has since recovered, however 12 people were sent home also to isolate after being identified as close contacts or contacted by track and trace. By happy chance, none of these employees have since tested positive either so we can breathe a sigh of relief, yet the situation was a stark reminder that Covid hasn’t gone away.
How do our employees feel about it?
To be honest, it is a mix. Some people want to get back to the office and face to face engagement. They have had enough of Teams and Zoom from their kitchen tables; some are happy with the mix of office and home and understandably some are still cautious about the risks. However, we have a brilliant Health, Safety & Compliance Director and team who follow all the latest guidance. Our new offices were designed with additional spaces to work, so we are fortunate that we can spread out.
Over the next few months it will be easier to open the windows and doors to circulate fresh air and we absolutely will take on board any personal issues and circumstances of concerned individuals. Being a cleaning company we are also hot on in our cleaning regime and even though we had additional touch-point cleaning throughout the day over the past year we will be increasing this further still when the office is fully occupied each day.
Are we right? Are we wrong? The answer is I don’t know and neither does anyone else. We are just trying to find a balance. We are putting our trust in the vaccination programme and the systems that we have in place and if we need to take a few steps back, we can do that too. Here’s to a hopeful future and finding a new normal.
The Floorbrite Group is one of the leading commercial cleaning and facilities service providers in the UK and remains a second-generation family business after nearly 50 years.
If you would like to learn more, please visit: www.floorbrite.co.uk
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