As the country begins the slow and delicate process of opening back up for business, many business leaders are grappling with how to make employees feel comfortable returning to the workplace. There is no questioning the fact that COVID-19 global pandemic is going to drastically alter the way that people do business for the unforeseeable future. How you respond to this crisis as a business leader will directly impact the health and happiness of your workers as well as your company's bottom line.

To ease the transition of the return to the physical workplace, human resource teams will need to be diligent about what safety precautions they take. Here are five steps to implement to ensure that your business space is ready for employees to return in this post-COVID world.

Making the Office Safe

First and foremost, it is imperative that you take the steps to make the workplace safe and sanitary. Before welcoming back your employees, it is prudent to hire a deep cleaning service to thoroughly disinfect the area. Your employees will feel more confident returning to work if they know that their workspace and all common areas will be cleaned and disinfected each day. Do not open up your workplace until have you have sufficient amounts of hand sanitizer, soap, tissues, disinfectant wipes, and paper towels on hand.

Encouraging Good Hygiene

Once you have communicated to your workforce that the company is being diligent about properly cleaning the work area, you need to communicate to the employees that they need to do their part. Providing face masks for use in public areas will go a long way in showing your employees that you value their health. Managers need to be diligent about modeling good behavior by wearing face masks. It is also imperative that employees understand that they are not to come to work if they are experiencing any symptoms.

Supporting Mental Health

It is no surprise that many of your employees may be challenged to find a good mental health balance as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Business leaders need to be cognizant of this issue and take steps to ensure that employees are getting the help that they need to combat any mental health issues. Incorporating mental health days into your paid time off policies will show employees that you value their emotional well-being.

Encouraging Social Interaction

One of the best ways that you can support a healthy mental state for your employees is to encourage social interaction. After so much time spent away from others, it is likely that your workers are eager to connect with their colleagues. You can do your part to support this initiative by implementing safe social activities. Perhaps you want to plan a brown bag picnic lunch every Friday? It is also important to realize that employees may be more chatty in the first few days returning to the office. Good leaders will give more leeway for their workers to reconnect.

Updating Company Policies and Procedures

Now is a good time to take a careful look at your current company policies and procedures, especially as they relate to sick leave, meeting situations, and work from home rules. The bottom line is that the pandemic is a rapidly changing situation. Nobody can predict how this is going to play out over the next few years. In order to be prepared, it is important to consider your current policies and adjust them as needed. For example, if your company routinely holds meetings with a lot of people around one conference table, you may want to move those to a different format in order to account for social distancing protocols. Perhaps you want to loosen work from home protocols in anticipation of the expected second wave of the coronavirus? Do not wait until the second wave hits before you start examining these policies.

Now more than ever, it is vital that you communicate all of these policies to your employees so that they feel empowered and informed. Being flexible as you move through this transition as a company will demonstrate to your valued employees that you care about their safety and overall health and happiness.