2021 is upon us and if we can take anything from the last 12 months, it’s that the workplace will never quite be the same again. In the short to medium-term, it’s essential that workplaces put policies in place to ensure they are COVID-secure and ready to welcome staff, visitors and the public back to their businesses in a safe, secure manner.
The result is that thousands of businesses are now reassessing their access control and security policies. This not only gives them the opportunity to make workplaces COVID-secure, but safer in other ways too. One of the easiest and most cost-effective methods to kickstart a security overhaul for 2021 is the purchase of an ID card printer.
These clever little desktop machines are the perfect way to kickstart a security overhaul but the benefits of operating one within businesses is often overlooked. No matter how large or small your organisation is, here are some of the key reasons we think an ID card printer is one of the best ways to create a safer workplace in 2021.
It increases workplace security
2020 shone a light on workplace security like we’ve never seen before. Ok, we’re mainly talking from a public health point of view here. But that all starts with the safety of the workplace in general and being able to identify members of staff immediately. The way we will be working in 2021 will differ depending on the size and nature of your organisation. Will there be a phased return? Have you implemented a split week between home and the office? All of this needs to be thought about to create an identification and access control policy that works for you. The number one thing you’ll need for that? That’s right… an ID card printer.
You can identify people on-site immediately
With offices now quieter than they used to be, it leaves staff potentially more vulnerable to intruders who should not be in the building. Using an ID card printer to issue photographic identification onto access control cards is a vital way of ensuring this cannot happen within a workplace. No matter the size of your organisation, being able to identify people immediately is crucial.
Challenging visitors is now vital
Are your staff operating in bubbles? Have you split the team in different locations within the same workspace? To operate in a COVID-safe manner and to ensure the continuity of business, it’s important that visitors do not meet those that they shouldn’t. Creating an effective ID card system deals with this issue by ensuring you can identify them immediately. Combining printed staff ID, visitor passes, and coloured lanyards is an excellent way of ensuring bubbles are adhered to and there is no breach to operating in a COVID-safe manner.
It helps staff adhere to COVID-safe working procedures
Printing and designing your own ID cards doesn’t just allow you to create photo identification for your staff: it can also contain any information you want. If you’re only just thinking about creating an ID issuance system, the back of the card is the perfect place to put COVID-specific guidelines to ensure everyone remains as safe as possible.
It reassures your staff and shows you care
Maintaining morale and showing your care about staff has always been important, but the repercussions of the last year have highlighted the importance of employee well-being. By creating a staff ID card policy and issuing your staff with the tools they need to stay safe shows you are a caring employer, and with that brings many benefits. In fact, incorporating an ID policy into your workplace handbook is vital, not only for your company, but for your staff’s benefit too. Should questions arise about the ways you’ve changed and adapted for a new way of working in 2021, you’ll have all the answers you need.