As the COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift, it’s likely that you’ll be thinking about transitioning back to office work and what that might look like for your business.

Considering the varying degrees of impact the pandemic has had on all businesses, a back to office transition will look different for everyone, and there’s no real way of knowing exactly what it will look like until it begins to happen. For you and your business, that may stir up some anxieties about how the process will work and whether you’ll be able to navigate through it as successfully as possible.

As a small business ourselves, we’ve definitely felt these anxieties! It’s yet another step into the unknown and, after the year the working world has had, that can feel quite daunting! However, there are a few things that we’re anticipating will look similar for all businesses as we begin to move back into a more normal way of working. With this in mind, we’ve put together a guide for what you might be able to expect (and prepare for) during your back to office transition and how our Virtual Assistant services may be able to support you through this next (and hopefully final!) stage of the pandemic.

 

Back to the Office – Key Considerations  

 

Logistics

Without knowing exactly what infection levels will look like at the time of an office return, it is important to have procedures in place to keep employees safe.

This may involve:

  • Rearranging your office space (we’ve done this many times over the last few months!) to adhere to social distancing guidelines if they are still in place.
  • Implementing new safety measures like restricting some areas of the office to a one-person zone (the kitchen area, for example) or having a one-way policy to avoid crowding.
  • Regular Covid testing if you feel it necessary – lateral flow tests are available to your business and return a result within 30 minutes.

Support for Employees

Many of your employees will have been working from home or entirely furloughed for more than a year. This may mean they have concerns about returning to the office. It will take some time for them to adapt their lifestyles once more; therefore, it is vital to offer your employees support before and during their first few weeks of their return.

Re-orientation

As many employees will have been furloughed for a considerable amount of time, they may need to be re-introduced to certain aspects of the business. As part of their re-orientation, it would be helpful to go over company policies, any changes that have occurred in their absence and remind them of important health and safety measures.

This will ensure that their return goes as smoothly as possible for them and the business as a whole.

 

Back to the office

Back to the Office – Virtual Assistant Support

While a change in working location may be the main focus of moving back to office work, it is also likely that your business will go through some changes due to restrictions being gradually lifted. This may include changes in workload and staffing.

To ensure that your business continues to run as smoothly as possible, it may be beneficial to enlist the support of outsource professionals who can take additional tasks off your hands. Here’s why:

A Busy Start

As a return to office work gets underway, you may find that your time is tied up with re-integrating employees back into the workplace, meetings, adjusting to in-person communication again and starting up larger business projects that have been put on the back burner throughout the pandemic.

This may mean that you struggle to find time to keep on top of behind the scenes tasks like credit control. Outsourcing these types of tasks to a Virtual Assistant will free up your time to focus on re-starting your business while still ensuring that important admin tasks are being taken care of.

Changes in Workload

As the world begins to open up once more, you may find an increased demand for your products or services. This could increase your workload, again leaving you with less time to keep on top of things like admin, data entry, content creation and credit control.

Having a Virtual Assistant on hand to pick up any tasks you no longer have the time for will keep stress levels at a minimum and ensure the smooth running of your business from the inside out.

Pandemic Complications

While restrictions may be well on their way to being lifted, it has frequently been made clear that coronavirus will be around for a while yet. This could mean that rules like self-isolation could still impact your staff numbers, and therefore your business.

Virtual Assistants and flexible and will be able to step in to take on the role of admin employees who may have to self-isolate. This will avoid a pile-up of behind the scenes tasks and the future issues that this could cause.

Financial Concerns

Many businesses have taken a significant knock throughout the pandemic, and you may be concerned that your accounts are not looking as healthy as they once were. Investing in a Virtual Assistant team that specialises in credit control will ensure that everything possible is being done to replenish your accounts.

Having an effectively managed credit control system will mean that any payments owed to you will be paid on time, and a build-up of aged debt will be avoided, meaning that a positive cash flow will be achieved quickly.

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The Edwards Company

Here at The Edwards Company, we’ve supported businesses through the pandemic and will continue to use our experience and expertise to do so throughout this next stage and beyond.

We offer a range of affordable support packages tailored to your specific needs, designed specifically to help you get your business back on its feet.

For more information about our services or to chat about how we can support your business through the back to office transition, please do not hesitate to get in touch.