I attended 10 "COVID-19 vaccine in the workplace" webinars...here are my top 4 tips!

Will you require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine?

This is a question many business owners, those in leadership and executives are asking themselves. And to put it lightly, the answer gets complicated.

We asked our b28 Insiders if they plan on mandating employees to get the vaccine. 80% responded no, 7% responded yes, and 13% said they’re not sure.

Regardless of whether or not your organization will mandate the vaccine for its employees, one thing is for certain - you should have a clear stance and message on what your decision is and how you wish to carry it out. You don’t want to leave employees wondering “what’s expected of me?”, or “what’s next?”. You want your employees to feel confident in their leadership and what the game plan is moving forward.

The good news is, you have time to plan! The vaccine is not readily available to everyone yet, which means you’ve been gifted time to evaluate your industry, culture, surroundings, etc. to make the best decision for your company and for your employees.

I’ve joined a lot of webinars discussing this topic…a lot! I’ve attended webinars in different areas of the country to get a good, diverse sense of what people are saying and how they’re handling this new challenge.

Below are my top tips or takeaways for you to consider.

Tip 1: Don’t make any assumptions.

We all know the saying, when you assume you make an…you know what.

Do not assume your employees know the most up-to-date or accurate information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. If you want to ensure your employees are receiving the best, most accurate information, then plan to provide them with the best, most accurate information. Get ahead of any rumors that may come by being proactive with the information you share. You may even consider inviting a physician or researcher to come and speak to your employees about the vaccine, common myths, and to answer any questions they may have.

Tip 2: Get a new best friend.

If you do plan to mandate the vaccine at your workplace, you need to get a new best friend…aka, your legal counsel! Think about it, when was the last time you mandated your employees to do something (outside of the healthcare industry)? We require employees to NOT do things all the time. We require them to not drink alcohol while working. We require them not to do drugs. But to DO something…that’s a different story and there are a lot of “yes, but” situations to come. So, be sure your company is armed with the best attorney or attorneys by your side to ensure you stay in compliance. In this particular situation, requiring a vaccine, you’ll find it easy to violate HIPAA laws during simple conversations.

There are also different things to consider that you’ll want to discuss with your best friend, um I mean, attorney. Different religious beliefs, genetic disorders, and more. Also, ADA may come into play requiring you to make reasonable accommodations for specific employees. There is a lot to consider and think about. Do not do it alone.

And with all that I discussed above, not only do the top executives need to be aware of how to stay compliant, but so does middle management and especially human resources. Think about the conversations that happen daily with these team members. Leadership as a whole needs to be completely in the know and aware of the appropriate ways to handle any situation or conversation that may come up regarding the vaccine.

Tip 3: Play out your game plan.

Will you mandate the vaccine? If so, when one of your best employees refuses to get it, what will happen?

Will you make the vaccine optional? If so, what happens when one of your top clients demands that the people they work with at your organization are vaccinated?

These are situations that are bound to come up. Instead of crossing the bridge when you get there, I suggest you play out these scenarios now. Are you prepared to lose some of your best people? Are you prepared to lose clients? What is expected within your industry? What’s the culture like at your organization? Answering these questions will help you see beyond just the vaccine and will help guide your decision for your specific plan of action. Discuss these scenarios with your leadership team and trusted advisors. In some situations the answer may be very clear. In others, perhaps not so much.

Play out your game plan to help you think of every possible scenario, the players involved and how to handle moving forward.

Tip 4: Communicate, communicate, COMMUNICATE!

It does not matter if you plan to mandate the vaccine, plan to make the vaccine optional, or choose not to get involved in that decision at all. What matters is that every single employee at your organization knows your exact game plan. They should know exactly what’s expected of them. You want to be the one to set the tone and be in charge of your own narrative. If you ignore the issue, then someone else will speak on your behalf.

Let’s say you want to give employees the freedom to make their own decision on getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Put that into a communication plan. Inform your employees your company’s standard of procedure when it comes to this vaccine. It’s not only imperative for current employees to know, but also for new employees. This may be a question that prospective employees want information on, so it’s best to have a plan written out that can be shared with current employees, new employees and potential employees. Documenting your stance and any standard of procedure will ensure that all departments, all locations and all team members are receiving the same exact message.

Now, let’s say you want to mandate the vaccine for employees. Your communication strategy should be detailed, thorough, frequent and long. It should be a top-down approach. It should start with the “why”. It should inspire employees. It should be understanding. I advise you treat it like a marketing plan. When you do this, magic happens! You find yourself explaining more and being more transparent. You find yourself communicating using different mediums to ensure everyone hears the message loud and clear. You find yourself being more relatable as opposed to talking down to someone. You find yourself using language that is easier to understand. This all happens when you turn your internal communications into a marketing strategy.

if you feel like you’re communicating too much…then you’re doing it right!