The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for modern organisations. Today, traditional lone workers, predominantly workers at remote sites and community-based workers, are more vulnerable than ever. The risk is harder to manage, as employers are no longer able to rely on manual record-keeping and worker management tools to keep them safe.
On top of this, the lone workforce has expanded exponentially overnight, to represent a large portion of the global population working from home. While these employees do not face the same risks around leaving their homes as traditional lone workers, their wellbeing remains the responsibility of their employers. This creates an overwhelming challenge that can only be solved with lone worker technology.
Because of changing work practises during COVID-19, new adopters of lone worker solutions can benefit from increased operational transparency, while existing users receive incremental operational efficiencies.
Please note, when referring to lone worker solutions, we are referring only to those which provide visibility and reporting of employees during work-related activities, and not to lone worker solutions that only operate in duress alarm situations and provide no other usable data.
Below are 4 ways that lone worker technology can help your organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond
Real-time monitoring, mapping and reporting of employees. No more manual record keepingLone worker technology provides organisations real-time monitoring and reporting of employees’ movements from work sites to office locations, via app-based sign-in, sign-out processes and employee mapping, removing the need for manual record keeping.Organisations are implementing widespread work from home policies and week-on, week-off rosters in offices that can lead to a level of uncertainty about which employees are working online or on-site at any point in time. Office managers and reception staff, typically responsible for the signing in and out of employees at offices, are seeing reduced hours and can no longer be relied upon to keep records for evacuation and emergency procedures.Real-time safety alertsLone worker technology enables managers that are working from the office or home to ensure that their employees are safe, via real-time alerts if an employee overstays an appointment or activates a duress alarm.Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, employees working in the community are still required to provide essential services including in-home care, employment and disability support, allied health, utilities such as electricity, gas and water, and local, state and federal government. The hazards and risks faced by these employees still exist.
Manage and engage with employees.Lone worker technology provides managers tools to manage and engage with employees to ensure their wellbeing.Work-from-home employees are the responsibility of their employers. It’s important that organisations maintain oversight and communication with their employees for team morale, mental health and wellbeing support, and productivity measures. Embed COVID-19 specific tools into the workflows to protect employees Lone worker technology can incorporate tools to enable employers to respond with COVID-19 specific tools. Forms can be incorporated into the employee workflow to ensure procedures are followed and information is documented for future reporting.
Organisations with employees visiting patients or clients in the community may want to include additional safety screen questions:
- Has the client been in close contact in the past14 days with a person who is a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19?
- Has the client undertaken any international travel in the past 14 days?
- Has the client been a cruise ship passenger or crew member in the past 14 days?
They can also incorporate good hygiene reminders into employees’ workflow, including the following checklist:
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue
- Put used tissues straight in the bin
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water
- Use alcohol-based hand sanitisers
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
At SHEQSY, we appreciate that our technology can benefit organisations in their time of need, and we feel asocial responsibility to help. Our lone worker technology provides real-time and historical records of employee movements. There is also an ability to report comments, hazards, incidents and near misses, accompanied by photo and video evidence, enabling managers to keep their employees safe in the COVID-19operating context.
SHEQSY can simply integrate into existing work flows and systems, including employee calendars. It has direct integrations into Office 365, Exchange, and G Suite, along with a suite of developer APIs for custom integrations.
Our team is available via web meeting to discuss your requirements, answer questions, provide product overviews, and assist with free implementation of our lone worker solution.
We can assist you to setup and deploySHEQSY across your organisation in under 60 minutes, for free, with no obligations until June 30, 2020. Contact us via sheqsy.com or at to start a conversation.
