Keeping our workplace safe
As the number of COVID cases bounced up and down throughout the year, HHB worked to find the balance between employee safety and customer comfort levels.
Masks, social distancing, and enhanced cleaning remained the norm. New employees were required to provide proof of vaccination as part of the hiring process and employees who could work from home continued to do so.
“We’ve had employees with COVID, but as far as we can tell, the infections have not come from the workplace,” said HHB CEO & General Manager Steve Snider late in the fiscal year.
“Our vigilance has paid off, but we need to remain vigilant for a while longer if we want to avoid some of the lost time challenges we are seeing in other organizations,” he said.
Snider said after two years of work in the shadow of the pandemic, the staff’s comfort level with virtual meetings reached unexpected high levels.
“When we moved beyond the learning curve, virtual meetings became a preference for staff in many cases,” said Snider. “The whole work-from-home option that was created of necessity evolved into a pretty efficient way of doing business.”
Although Snider believed a return to in-person meetings was inevitable in 2022, virtual or small group meetings with masks were the standard as the year ended.