Social distancing in meetings

15th September 2020 | 3 min read

Social-distancing-in-meetings--Social distancing in meetings

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, over the last few months we have had to adapt to a new way of working. With the many employees working from home over lockdown, Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams quickly became the norm for client calls and day-to-day meetings, as well as ideation sessions, presentations and pitches.

Although we managed to successfully adjust to this new style of communicating, business is gradually going back to normal, and many of us will be returning to the office once again over the coming weeks. However, face-to-face meetings are expected to look a little different, with social distancing and hygiene measures being put into place to promote employee safety at all times. So, what can we expect these meetings to look like? Read on to learn more about social distancing in meetings.

Safe working and people first at LABS

At LABS, we are working hard to uphold our ‘people first’ promise by ensuring our workspaces are as safe as possible. As long as COVID-19 continues to pose a risk to employee health and safety, our office and meeting spaces will be operating with increased focus on hygiene, social distancing and other preventative steps to protect employees whilst at work. Although initially a short-term precaution whilst we aim to make these new health and safety protocols standard procedure for the future. We’ve introduced the following measures to ensure that meetings can go ahead safely.

Reduced occupancy in meeting rooms

Teams can look forward to meeting in person once more, but meeting rooms will have reduced capacity. This is so team members can maintain social distancing, ensuring that everyone in the room feels comfortable and protected. There will be clear signage in place for meeting rooms and breakout spaces detailing the room’s capacity and signalling one-way systems in place.

Cleaning and disinfecting work spaces

There will now be a 15-minute window between each meeting to allow time for thorough cleaning and disinfecting of the rooms. Our dedicated cleaning staff will be using a high-strength virucidal spray with long-term coverage that will banish any bacteria from surfaces, and staff will be instructed to use hand sanitiser before and after entering meeting rooms.

Improved air quality

It’s a well-known fact that offices can get a little stuffy, which in the current climate is definitely a cause for concern. We’ve therefore taken steps to improve the ventilation throughout our coworking spaces to enhance filtration and increase the flow of outside air, so everyone in the building can be rest assured that the air they are breathing in is fresh and clean. We’ll also be regularly monitoring building humidity to support respiratory health.

Plants in offices not only help to brighten up the place and boost mood, but they also have air purifying properties – so we’ve increased the greenery in our public spaces, creating a much more pleasant working environment for everyone.

Enhanced technology in meeting rooms

Remote working has had its fair share of technological problems – trouble dialling in, WiFi issues, poor call quality and kids interrupting has sometimes made meetings challenging. Going forwards, we’ve improved the functionality in all meeting rooms to smooth out any glitches, meaning that meetings will be able to run as seamlessly as they did before – even if some participants are still dialling in remotely.

In addition to this, we will ensure that everyone in our workspaces has access to face masks and hand sanitiser, and will remind all meeting participants to be mindful of social distancing guidelines. With these new measures in place, we hope to make hygienic, socially distanced meetings as easy as possible. Just remember not to shake hands!