{"id":18389,"date":"2020-05-15T15:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T19:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benefitscanada.com\/news\/employers-making-plans-for-return-to-work-processes-survey-146052"},"modified":"2020-05-15T15:00:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T19:00:22","slug":"employers-making-plans-for-return-to-work-processes-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2020\/05\/15\/employers-making-plans-for-return-to-work-processes-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"Employers making plans for return-to-work processes: survey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Staff<\/span> | May 15, 2020 <\/p>\n

The majority (93 per cent) of Canadian employers plan to favour a government-based approach when it comes to bringing their employees back to work, according to a new survey by Aon.<\/p>\n

The survey, which reached more than 500 Canadian organizations in late April, also found 82 per cent of respondents said they\u2019ll stagger return to work by role prioritization, while 71 per cent said they\u2019ll stagger it by geography or location.<\/p>\n

Upon employees\u2019 return to the workplace, all survey respondents said they\u2019ll implement temperature check sites hosted by trained staff, thermal cameras or on a self-reporting basis. Most companies said they\u2019ll request that their employees complete a health assessment survey upon their return.<\/p>\n

Read: Legal considerations for employers as pandemic drags on<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the humanitarian and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to climb, many organizations are beginning to shift their focus from crisis management and business continuity to planning a safe return to work, amidst a new normal for business operations once stay-at-home regulations begin to relax,\u201d said Rejean Tremblay, chief commercial officer at Aon, in a press release. \u201cThis survey shows that Canadian organizations are taking proactive steps to improve their workplace and ease the return to the office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only 41 per cent respondents said they plan to implement a formal coronavirus testing program for their workforce, while 52 per cent said they\u2019re considering such a program. For organizations that plan to conduct testing for employees, a third said they\u2019ll enlist an onsite designated test provider, while 40 per cent said they\u2019re considering it. And a quarter (25 per cent) of respondents said they prefer to engage an offsite designated test provider, with 50 per cent considering that option.<\/p>\n

The survey also found 60 per cent of organizations said they\u2019re planning to provide employees with personal protective equipment when they return to work, while 32 per cent said they\u2019re seriously considering it. However, employers also indicated they\u2019ll provide and\/or facilitate hand sanitizer stations, cleaning supplies for individual work spaces, gloves, masks and\/or face shields for their employees onsite. Nearly all (92 per cent) respondents said they\u2019ll close access to common areas and 97 per cent said it\u2019s likely they\u2019ll reconfigure their office layout to create a safer environment.<\/p>\n

Read: Remote working, distributed workforces could be part of new normal post-coronavirus<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Employers were also asked how the experience of responding to the coronavirus pandemic might change their future workforce strategies. More than a third (37 per cent) acknowledged a need to review their operations, adding they\u2019re considering a long-term restructuring of their operations and workforce.<\/p>\n

More than half (59 per cent) said they\u2019re aiming to encourage more employees to work remotely on a permanent basis and 65 per cent said they\u2019ve recently implemented (or are actively considering) creating a separate task force to support their human resources function in focusing on managing immediate issues, such as crisis management or business continuity planning.<\/p>\n

The survey found many organizations are still grappling with operational challenges brought on by the coronavirus. The vast majority of survey respondents are focusing on employee safety (92 per cent), while <\/b>84 per cent of companies said they\u2019ve highly prioritized employee communications and total well-being. More than two-thirds (71 per cent) of respondents said they\u2019ve put an increased emphasis on work-life balance.<\/p>\n

In addition, among the types of communications employers are sending to employees, 78 per cent said they\u2019re providing new health and safety protocols or processes, following by sending numerous messages from senior leadership (73 per cent), informing employees about the organization\u2019s financial health (40 per cent) and highlighting well-being resources and tools (36 per cent).<\/p>\n

Read:<\/strong> Benefits plan members nervous about in-person health care, finds survey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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