As local businesses get used to working around the developing COVID-19 situation, VERTO Bathurst has outlined a series of tips to assist employees who may have to work from home.
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With social distancing having a major effect on many local businesses, working from home has become a 'new normal' for numerous employees.
VERTO chief executive officer Ron Maxwell said it's important for people to devise a dedicated workspace at home where possible.
"It's important to have a permanent workspace with minimal distraction and plenty of ergonomic comfort," Mr Maxwell said.
"In addition, stick to real work hours, maintain your daily routine and keep in touch with colleagues frequently to stay accountable for completing set work."
Mr Maxwell said health and wellbeing is also essential in maintaining productivity.
"Exercise is extremely important, so you should ensure time is set aside each day for a walk, run or other forms of fitness," he said.
"It's also important to keep work and home life separate, as 'work creep' can negatively impact your lifestyle."
Like most businesses, VERTO has had to re-evaluate the delivery of their services to work in accordance with the Department of Health's guidelines.
"We've established a pandemic response team, who meet daily to review COVID-19 updates and their implications on our business," Mr Maxwell said.
"Our organisation has also split into two teams to alternate time between home and the office, as not all work functions can be performed from home."
Mr Maxwell said the process has allowed VERTO to maintain a sense of normalcy around productivity.
"We were concerned our IT infrastructure wouldn't be able to take to traffic of numerous staff signing in remotely, but the process has been more seamless than we thought," he said.
"Over 200 people are employed through VERTO, and the time we've spent over the years on our VPN [virtual private network] structure has paid off."
Mr Maxwell said VERTO has also had to revise their employment and training services.
"A lot of our training clients have switched to online learning and the federal government's wage subsidies for small businesses is keeping us busy with apprenticeship welfare," he said.