All Aboard!!! Reboarding Employees Returning to the Work Site

Reboarding is the idea of supporting your employees returning to the work site after months of work from home. There are lots of steps to ensuring a successful reboarding process.

• Advise your employees of new virus-related policies. For example:

  • What are the organization’s personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements? Will these be voluntary or mandatory? What will be provided by the company?

  • What are the expectations regarding interacting with coworkers? What about clients or vendors?

  • How many people are allowed in the workplace at once or in any given space?

  • What other physical distancing guidelines are in place?

  • Will temperature checks be required?

  • Who should be notified if an employee feels ill?

  • How should employees handle if they need to cough or sneeze? What is the protocol?

• Explain everything the organization has been working on in the interim, such as new clients, new vendors, or product/process updates. What’s changed? What hasn’t?

• If any other changes have been implemented in the meantime, provide training on these. For example, many organizations are using videoconferencing services much more than before, but employees who have not been with the organization for the past couple months may not know how to use them.

• If any system or software log-ins were reset or closed, these will need to be reinstated.

• If there is a new telecommuting policy, the details of that need to be explained.

• If new benefits are available, communicate these. If old benefits are no longer available, advise on this, too.

• Tactfully communicate about how soon other employees will be brought back onboard and whether all employees will eventually come back.

Another factor to consider is that this pandemic has created a situation where many people are struggling with mental health. Bringing people back should be treated gently. Some tips:

• Give people a chance to get reacquainted.

• Be sure communication is frequent, and pay attention to seeking out and hearing the employees’ perspectives.

• Be careful not to overwhelm them too quickly with too much information.

• Remember that employees coming back from furlough may have an eroded level of trust in the organization, especially if it was not something that impacted every employee.

• Talk with employees who are coming back about their changed needs in this situation.

• Intentionally create new teams for projects.

• Review results to date and goals for the balance of 2020. Communicate about any changes to an employee’s role or responsibilities.

• Consider adding benefits to address this issue, like an employee assistance program (EAP), if you don’t already have one. If you do offer EAP, ensure everyone is aware of it and how to use it.

• Communicate about the mental health resources that are available via your healthcare benefits or wellness program, if applicable.