How to prepare the workplace for the New Normal in a post-COVID-19 world

While a lot of people may wish that 2021 may provide a restart, life and work as we know it will probably not go “back to normal” anytime soon. At least, not the normal that we have missed before the lockdown last March 2020.

Most employees will have to get used to the New Normal, that is, a post-COVID-19 New Normal.

A New Normal for 2021 will involve adhering to social distancing rules in public places, and that rule also includes the workplace. Not all industries can afford to have their employees work remotely for a prolonged period.

For those who are gearing up to work on-site, changes in work processes will help provide the social distancing they need to stay safe.

So, how can you implement changes to get your workplace ready to thrive and survive in a post-COVID-19 world?

While a lot of people may wish that 2021 may provide a restart, life and work as we know it will probably not go “back to normal” anytime soon. At least, not the normal that we have missed before the lockdown last March 2020.

Most employees will have to get used to the New Normal, that is, a post-COVID-19 New Normal.

A New Normal for 2021 will involve adhering to social distancing rules in public places, and that rule also includes the workplace. Not all industries can afford to have their employees work remotely for a prolonged period.

For those who are gearing up to work on-site, changes in work processes will help provide the social distancing they need to stay safe.

So, how can you implement changes to get your workplace ready to thrive and survive in a post-COVID-19 world?

Four Workplace Changes for the New Normal

As some, if not most employees are starting to go back to the office this 2021, protocols should be kept in place to reduce interactions between people at work and keep a physical distance between them.

Deborah Alvord, Senior Director at global research firm Gartner, noted, "Many service organizations can’t implement remote work for all of their employees due to the lack of available infrastructure, the physical nature of some service and support roles, or because of service contracts.”

“In such scenarios, service and support leaders must provide government recommended provisions, as well as implement social distancing for the wellness and safety of on-site employees,” she added.

Here are several recommendations from Gartner about the implementation of social distancing protocols in the workplace:

RECOMMENDATION 1: Social Customs

• Limited visitor policy- Organizations need to strictly adhere to the limited visitor rule and only allow authorized personnel from entering the office space.
• Awareness of distancing rules- Employees should be encouraged to maintain the six feet distancing rule from other employees. In addition, employees should only greet each other without physical contact. They should also encourage employees to avoid handshakes and hugs while interacting with other colleagues.

RECOMMENDATION 2: Scheduling Shifts

• Flexible work hours- Organizations should also seriously consider flexible work arrangements or reduce their working hours so that only a few employees are on-site during the day.
• Staggered work arrangements- Another solution is to implement staggered shifts if the nature of the organization's industry demands a certain number of employees to be on-site to handle complex tasks and critical issues. Employees should also be given alternate desks during staggered shifts to allow the company to sanitize their workstations thoroughly.

RECOMMENDATION 3: Workplace Design

• Insert partitions to the office space- If there are low or no cubicle walls, organizations can add acrylic dividers to create a higher physical barrier between employees. It will help reduce the spread of infectious droplets due to a sneeze or cough.
• Revisit seating arrangements Organizations need to ensure that employees are not sitting too close to each other. If the office has a congested workspace, provide employees with alternate desks and implement rotational work arrangements if possible.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Collaboration

• Pooling tasks- The New Normal requires the workforce to work smarter. One way of doing that is to pool or rotate tasks so some employees can work remotely while the others can take the responsibility to work in the office for the day. Organizations should consider pooling tasks and use flexible work arrangements to increase social distancing and reduce the risk of infection in the office.
• Virtual meetings- Make it a rule to shift in-person meetings to virtual meetings whenever possible. While organizations may need to provide employees with laptops and other devices, virtual support and online collaboration tools are also needed to make remote work as manageable as possible.

Repurposing the workplace with technology

Suppose companies are concerned about their employees lapsing on the social distancing rule while working. In that case, it’s probably a good idea to start utilizing technology to ensure that they retain the required distance apart.

Workplace analytics and devices that use IoT can provide data that gives insights into behaviors in the workplace. These analytics can help build a comprehensive insight into how effective a workplace is in terms of its connectivity, productivity, and wellbeing of employees.

In addition, equipping the workplace with the right technology that will help promote and upheld social distancing rules within the workplace can be an invaluable companion for the New Normal.

RICOH’s @Remote technology: The Ideal companion for the New Normal

Multifunction printers are one of the essential technologies that help businesses function well in a modern workplace setup. It’s part of a company’s essential operating expenses that keeps an organization fully functional.

Amidst the COVID-19 disruption and the need to adapt to the New Normal, employees need new functions and enhancements to help them work more productively and efficiently.

Investing in technology for the New Normal means that the organization is also restructuring its core technology systems to support new digital functionalities that can provide significant performance benefits for their employees while implementing social distancing rules in the workplace.

That kind of technology can be found in RICOH’s @Remote intelligent support service.

RICOH’s @Remote is a new kind of Internet-based support for remote management of multifunction printers. With the advent of this kind of service, the status of devices on the network can be monitored in real-time, required services can be delivered rapidly, and breakdowns prevented and downtime shortened.

Features of RICOH’s @Remote Technology

Remote Assist

An organization that automates its service call procedures eliminates the need for employees to initiate in-person service calls to their suppliers. RICOH's Remote Assist support can be a vital tool for the organization to help implement social distancing measures for the 2021 New Normal.

For companies that are strictly implementing its limited visitor policy in the workplace, RICOH's @Remote technology can be beneficial since it allows a customer support operator to remotely connect with the multifunction printer over the Internet. The Remote Assist customer support center can also diagnose and resolve issues of your organization’s devices through real-time screen sharing, remote guidance, and operation.

Efficiently manage printing fleet

RICOH’s @Remote network capabilities will automatically place a service request with detailed diagnostic information. To further ensure that your device is entirely up and running, alerts can be sent instantaneously, such as warnings about low toner.

RICOH's @Remote also creates detailed usage reports to help the organization gain more insight and knowledge on printer usage. Organizations can effectively manage their printing fleet by reviewing for black-and-white and full-color usage on your Ricoh network printers and MFPs to make better overall printer management choices.

RICOH’s @Remote technology can also examine print, copy, and fax volumes of the organization’s multifunction printer to determine each device's performance to allow reallocation of resources for optimal device placement within the organization.

Eliminate the hassle of manual meter reading

@Remote technology eliminates the need for manual meter reading by automatically providing accurate information from your printer fleet without user intervention. It automatically reports meter counts at a scheduled time and eliminates errors from manual reading.

Depending on the set meter reading date, RICOH’s @Remote system will provide the meter reading necessary for billing purposes. This will eliminate the need for manual in-person meter reading and possible human error during the process. It will also help decrease administrative costs and effectively enhance the organization's multifunction printers' efficiency.

Security in an "at-risk" environment

RICOH engineered its @Remote technology by taking into account the organization’s concerns regarding network and information protection. As such, it is fully equipped with: ·

• Secure HTTPS communication—designed to meet virtually any security requirement.
• Complete automation, including setup and installation with no on-site support required by IT professionals.
• Information Technology Security Certification—Common Criteria / IS015408.

Click this link to learn how RICOH’s @Remote service works.

Welcome 2021 with a new and improved workplace technology for the New Normal

COVID-19 is not expected to go away anytime soon. It is still expected to change the workplace, and the way employees do their work.

That’s why investing in new workplace technologies like RICOH’s @Remote capabilities has made it possible to refine and scale up business operations in the wake of the global pandemic. Ricoh Philippines has a proven track record of creating IT infrastructure and software services that will help your organization transition seamlessly into the New Normal. Click on this link to find out more!