With COVID-19 on a downward trajectory and many business owners leasing office space again, employees across the nation are being welcomed back to the office on either a full-time office or hybrid schedule. This isn’t an easy transition after working from home for over two years, so it’s natural for some employees to be slightly upset they have to pick up their daily commute and pack a lunch for themselves again.
If you’re nervous about the company culture and all the employees getting along, we recommend following these tips to make the process easier.
Focus on easy access to important documents
With employees returning to the office, chances are they are going to be a bit frazzled from the transition and are going to be confused about how to access important documents in a timely manner.
Make sure employees are properly trained on the latest cloud-based software to ensure they can access documents and work from anywhere. This is especially important if your employees are on a hybrid schedule, and there’s a lot of back and forth.
Streamline payroll services
When asking employees to return to the office for the first time, there’s a chance you’re going to have some pushback. If you’re working in the finance/accounting department, make sure employees are aware that their paychecks are on time and can be viewed at any time through an online portal.
If you’re incentivizing employees to come back to the office through raises or other financial incentives, make sure there are other great aspects like company culture.
Clarify company policy
Since there’s some gray area with company policy when your workforce is primarily remote, be sure to go over the updated policy and the employee handbook once you’re all back together in the same room.
If you’re still taking COVID-19 precautions, specify when masks are required and if there’s a testing agreement. This policy must be crystal-clear, the same for every employee and served online in the cloud-based system.
Utilize in-person opportunities
Although working from home is nice, it’s also fun to plan in-person activities and meetings to get the team engaged and getting to know new people. Be sure to create opportunities for employees to connect outside of meetings to help encourage team bonding and camaraderie.
We hope you enjoyed these tips about getting back to office work. To learn more about our streamlined payroll services, visit our website.
