New Webinar Series Helps Arlington Businesses Reopen Safely
July 13, 2020 | By Michael Stiefvater
As Arlington entered into Phase 3 of the Governor’s “Forward Virginia” reopening plan in early July, AED’s Business Investment Group began a series of webinars to help office tenants as they consider reopening their workplace amidst the pandemic. The initial webinar, “Reopening Safely: Your Guide to Managing the Workplace During COVID-19” focused on the physical safety of bringing employees back to the office with the following panel of health and workplace strategy experts:
- Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington County's Public Health Director
- Emily Neff, CBRE's Southeast Region Lead for the Workplace
- Lisa McGregor, Jacobs' Global Lead for Space Strategies
After a welcome from AED’s Director, Telly Tucker, and an introduction of the panelists, Dr. Varghese provided an update on Arlington’s current health status and the County’s efforts to combat the pandemic. While the National Capital region is currently experiencing a relatively flat caseload, Dr. Varghese expressed the need for continued vigilance from the public to continue this trend as community-wide transmission continues. Specifically, he recommended limiting non-essential physical interaction, universal use of facial coverings, and regular hand-washing.
Transitioning from the public health perspective, the workplace strategy experts, Emily and Lisa, provided insights from their work across the country and globe on how office tenants are approaching difficult questions related to maintaining a safe, productive workforce. While the experts noted the increased availability of collaborative software in helping minimize the negative externalities of remote work, they also discussed how companies can effectively communicate with their employees on the safety initiatives being implemented on-site. Additionally, the panelists discussed strategies for maintaining a clean office environment and best practices for monitoring the health of employees.
As part of the webinar, AED compiled several valuable resource links(PDF, 145KB) from the panelists with information on the County’s COVID response and guides on reopening workplaces.
The next webinar in the Business Investment Group’s series is expected to take place in late July with a focus on human resources, so please sign up for AED’s business events newsletter to receive registration details when they become available.