Information and Education for Employees
Even though everyone seems to suffer from an overload of information at this time, it still seems important that we support our employees in understanding which information is part of our decisions to keep everyone safe.
Therefore we emphasize the need for continuous information and education of all employees. Keeping decisions transparent can be the key to limiting fears and the baseline of good communication! This is all the more important as many of the newly minted rules are presenting employees with a very different and more isolated word environment.
We do value every one enduring these new rules for as long as they should prove necessary, and we believe that this should be communicated throughout the crisis. We value your contribution and we work to keep you and your families safe. Because this, in the long run, is what these rules and restrictions are about.
This said, please ask employees to observe the following regulations:
- Use all displays and all highly frequented areas during this times to raise awareness for hygienic behavior (wash hands and use hand sanitizer, cough and sneeze holding up elbow, keep distance, at least 2 meters)
- You can raise awareness by providing “Hygiene Information buttons” (see and download below) on every door and entrance
- We would welcome your sending our E-Mails and videos to your employees. This might also save your time. But if you should have developed good material and ideas, please feel free to share this with all of us and inspire us!
- With this goal in mind you can provide internal webtrainings e.g. Use of masks as shown on the left/above
- People have questions! Please be mindful that it is normal that new rules raise concerns and fears. Please encourage your employees to ask for support where they need it. You can also set up internal websites that answer the most frequently asked questions of your employees so that everyone has quick access to an answer to some of their concerns
- Please make sure everyone´s also has a real life communication partner. Sometimes a dialog is more assuring than the technical answer
- You could also set up a Covid-19 hotline that employees can call if they have sorrows or questions. Make sure the person answering the hotline is trained beforehand and understands that callers might be under pronounced stress or in need of reassurance that they are still working in a real life environment
- We expect some employees will feel increasingly ill-at-ease as time goes by, and we are preparing to provide support. Mental and physical health of everyone and their families is on our minds as we react to the crisis. Many carry burdens that are possibly destabilizing work-life-balances in major ways. People have small children or elderly parents to care for, and this additional stress can add up significantly over time. Preexisting health conditions also can aggravate as the pandemic draws on. We consider it very important that information on how to contact the company doctor is readily available if an employee has confidential health related topics so they will find a communication partner as soon as the need arises
- Please let employees know that the company doctor is legally able to pass on necessary actions without a statement of reason to the HR