As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, we are finding different ways that we are being affected. Psychotherapist Amy Morin says “If your anxiety is sky high right now, you’re not alone. The coronavirus pandemic is affecting our everyday lives in multiple different ways” (read more about Amy’s tips on how to manage anxiety here). As property managers, you may be feeling anxiety about how this will affect your residents and business. Here are our tips for property managers to be proactive during this time.
Stay Up To Date
Staying up to date can be tricky with all of the misinformation out there. One of the important things is to ensure you are looking at the right sources for information. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a great place to be looking towards for global information. If you need information more relevant to your location, contact or visit online your local and state health offices.
Sharing Helpful Information With Your Residents
During this time, you need to be communicating with your residents. This does not necessarily mean that you need to give them a play by play and overload their email. This means that they know your company’s pandemic flu plan. If any situations develop locally, they are aware of how to handle the situation according to the local health offices and how to stay safe. Communication is critical at this moment to help ensure the safety of all of your residents and employees. Ensure that your residents and employees have a quick and easy way to reach out and receive information from one another.
Maintaining Your Cleanliness Levels
At this time, the most important aspect of prevention from COVID-19 has been maintaining cleanliness. This involves providing sanitation stations for your employees and residents to use. Communicating with your cleaning companies to ensure workstations, countertops, door knobs/handles, and other highly used surfaces are being disinfected properly and regularly. Visit BOMA’s website here for more information and downloadable content that you can begin implementing.
Prepare Your Staff
In order to ensure your staff is safe and has the tools needed to help the continuity of your business, they need to be properly prepared. The first step is encouraging your staff to stay home if they feel that they are sick and seek the proper medical attention. Next, cross-train personnel to perform essential functions so that buildings can operate if key staff members are absent. Consider flexible worksites and flexible work hours to help your staff maintain physical distance.
The purpose of these tips for property managers are to help maintain the guidelines that health officials have released in the past month. Please refer to WHO’s latest updates when deciding on changes or policy updates. For information on the tools Opiniion has to maintain communication with your residents, contact us at (855) 330-9980 or fill out for our sign up form here.
