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Production Interview Advice that’s Essential

What Production Interview Advice You Must Have

production job interview advice

Interview Skills – How To Ace Interview Questions

There are many ways you can prepare and obtain essential production interview advice. It is important that you prepare well and try to impress the interviewer. Here are some tips for you:

Interviewers will ask you a range of questions. Some will be skills-based and others will be personality-based. The more you prepare the better you’ll be able to answer these questions and be able to get the job you want.

Do You Have Experience With a particular highly sought-after production skill?

Skills-based interviews are common in the job market and are an excellent way for the recruiter to assess a candidate’s experience and competency. They are also a good way of gauging whether the candidate has the ability to perform their job role. Preparing for the interview by listing your skills used in previous assignments will help you to perform well.

Production job interview advice

The best way to find out if you are qualified for the job is for the interviewer to ask specific skills-based questions. Often, you will be placed in a hypothetical real-life situation and be asked to make a decision. This will put you in a situation where you have to think and apply your knowledge.

The 6 Best Questions To Ask About Jobs

Here’s our production interview advice on answering skills questions. You can get a feel for how a potential employer will see you. Think about your skills and past behavior and what you can do to show them off. The interviewer will give you a production job task and ask how you would respond to show you can do the job.

Skills questions are an important part of the interview process. They help an employer get a feel for your previous work experience.  They provide insight into how you could bring value to the employer’s production environment.

Through asking these questions, the interviewer could determine whether you are the right person for the job.

How to Answer a Skill Question

Be careful when answering skills-based questions. Skills are important but if you’re being interviewed for a job which doesn’t require skills, they won’t be relevant. An example of a relevant question would be, “What skills do you have which are useful in this role?”

Prepping for Production Job Interview Skills Questions

The best way to prepare for an interview is to list the skills you’ve needed for production jobs in the past.

production job interview advice

Once you have your list of skills, think of situations in your past assignments where you used these skills effectively. Think of situations you can confidently discuss and that had positive and measurable outcomes.

In particular, include hard skills such as forklift driving, operate pallet jacks, or experience setting up machines to start a production cycle.

Hard vs soft skill differences

Yet, soft skills such as communication and time management are also required for most production jobs.

Think of your past jobs and skills you used, like most workers you are good at some things and bad at others. Highlight the things you have achieved with positive outcomes.

STAR Technique: How to Impress Interviewers

Feeling a bit unsure?  Part of our production interview advice is to look for tips in our previous posts. Key production interview advice on technique for answering questions :  The STAR technique is one of the most effective tools in answering skills  interview questions and can help you deliver pertinent answers to skills questions. We have discussed this in previous posts you may wish to consult.

Production job interview advice - STAR method

The STAR technique is a simple process that involves breaking your resume down into four sections and providing an explanation for each. Here is an example of how the STAR process looks:

using STAR technique to keep your answers crisp and concise

 

 

 

 

Situation

The context of the situation is very important. It may be the job you are currently in, a previous job, a previous employer, or something else.

Task

How did you contribute to this situation? Were you responsible for creating the situation, or were you the person that had to resolve it?

Action

Make sure you describe what you did specifically. This will help your employer understand how you carried out your role and what you achieved.

Results

This is another one of those questions where the interviewer wants to know what you did and what you accomplished. This is a question about your actions and how they helped company or team performance. The interviewer wants to know how you have helped effectiveness in the past.

Consequently, the STAR technique is important when responding to an interviewer. It is important to focus on your actions and results and avoid the unnecessary details. When writing the details of the task and the situation, focus on the results and the benefits of those results. You should be clear about what the recruiter is looking for.

Nail Production Skills – Production Interview Advice

Preparing for an interview for production work is crucial. If you are going to be interviewed, you need to know what you are going to be asked, and how to answer. The interviewer will ask you skills questions.  Prepare for the situation by creating a list of your skills and familiarizing yourself with the STAR technique. The STAR technique is a way to answer questions thoroughly and effectively.

Summarizing Production Interview Advice

When you prep for the interview, list your qualities that match the job specification. Research the company and the industry and craft your summary statement.  Review common questions, create your answers and come up with a list of questions to ask the interviewer.

In the interview, focus on the points you have prepared.  Relax and don’t let your answers sound rehearsed.  Learn what you can about the company.  Ask questions. Listen to the interviewer’s answers and observe.  At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer, and ascertain the next steps.  Finally, get the interviewer’s business card so you can send a follow-up letter reminding the recruiter your good qualities and your fit to the job.

Flexicrew Production Jobs

Flexicrew is an employment agency that focuses on production work. Whether you are looking for your first production job or you are a tenured production worker looking for a new opportunity contact us today!  We will thoroughly prepare you for any production job interviews we send you on.

Raise Productivity When it’s Difficult to Hire New Workers

Productivity Month – June

Flexicrew chose June as a month to raise productivity.

Why?

Business owners, operations managers and HR professionals voice the same complaint to us. They have a lot of available jobs but can’t find workers to hire.

10 Productivity Tips for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

One way to soften the sting of this problem is to raise productivity in their current workforce.

Raise Productivity in Current Workforce

Flexicrew has written a series of articles on boosting productivity during June  and will continue to do so through the end of this month.  We provide you a guide to increase your monthly productivity, to achieve greater performance, and great results.  Our blog contains proven steps and suggestions for how to be a more productive worker  by performing a series of activities daily. With the help of this blog, we will focus you on increasing employee engagement, getting better performance from current staff and building employee retention.

We will provide recommendations that will surely motivate you to become a more productive worker.

Make sure that you take note of your progress by keeping a notebook on hand. Write in your notebook after you have started or completed activities.  At the end of the month  you’ll see some results that raise productivity. You see, if you focus on important activities, you won’t feel like being productive is overwhelming and that it cannot be done. This blog will help you realize that focusing on productivity will naturally pay dividends at work and even in your satisfaction.

Habits and the Mind

We are shaped by our habits.  Useful and harmful ones fight each other for command of our minds. By discipline and willpower alone it’s possible to unlearn useless habits and change your behavior.

The key is persistence. Often you will need many months to see the results, so don’t surrender early.

By watching your mind regularly, you can start noticing recurrent patterns.  But the core idea is that you can adapt your workflow to these states instead of resisting them.

Procrastination

Procrastination itself can have different causes — maybe the task is too complex or too boring, fear of failure or simple laziness. Even a slight presence of these negative factors can make us go for instant rewards instead of doing something that will create a better future in the long term.

Avoiding work is similar — these are just the thoughts of what you don’t like about your tasks and what you would rather do. But you are not your thoughts, and they have no power over you until you feed them with attention. You can ignore them like a background noise by keeping your focus on your goals.

Summary

As we begin to enter the last phase, now is a great opportunity to start to implement good work habits or redouble your commitment  to maximize your productivity and return to business with greater focus than ever.

Finally, to raise your productivity, at the end of each day, ask yourself the following:

  1. Have I accomplished what I wanted to achieve?
  2. Did I actually have  to be present for meeting or event I attended?
  3. Could I have reached the same result in a shorter time frame?

This is a powerful approach to determine if you are really managing and spending your time wisely and raising productivity.

10-Day Challenge to Reset Your Life After the Pandemic

After the Pandemic many are considering how to reexamine and reset values, jobs, and lives.  You might think that when it comes to starting a healthy new habit or big new project, there’s no time like the present. One day should be as good as the next for your first trip to the gym or working session. But that’s not what psychology says.
As in so many other things, humans are less than rational when it comes to new beginnings. It’s simply easier to get started with something new when there is some big temporal marker or life change to signal the beginning of a new phase. This is called the “fresh-start effect” and it explains why New Year’s resolutions are so popular and enrollment in weight-loss programs rises at “back-to-school time” in the fall.It’s also why now is the perfect time to reimagine your life and your routine.

After the Pandemic The perfect “fresh start” to revamp your life

The pandemic, both psychology and personal experience tell us, forced many of us to reexamine our values and our lives, and take a harder look at how well the two line up. Now that vaccines are slowly bringing the worst of the crisis to an end in the U.S., we’re not only armed with new knowledge about the kind of lives we truly want to live, but circumstances are also offering us the perfect “fresh start” to give a psychological boost to your efforts to revamp your life.

What’s the best way to take advantage of this opportunity? Writing for The New York Times recently, Tara Parker-Pope offers a suggestion — why not try a 10-day challenge to reset and refocus as you begin to settle into whatever your life is going to look like post-pandemic?

Short, sharp challenges are a great way to kick-start change at any time, but now is a particularly good time to undertake a full-on personal improvement plan. “We have this opportunity with this blank slate to change our health habits and be very conscientious about our day,” Katy Milkman, a Wharton professor and author of a new book titled How to Change, tells Parker-Pope. “What is our lunch routine going to look like? What is our exercise routine? There’s an opportunity to rethink. What do we want a workday to look like?”

The pandemic shattered our previous routines. Our new ones aren’t yet set in stone. So get experimenting, the article urges, before helpfully laying out a 10-day plan of exercises and small pilot projects to help you get started. They range from simple prompts to help you better pinpoint your true state of mind to ideas for squeezing more movement, mindfulness, or true human connection into your day.

Complete Revamp Plan for After the Pandemic

You can check out the complete plan here. Or if you’re looking for more ideas to experiment with as you design your new post-pandemic routine, we’ve also offered plenty of inspiration here on Inc.com in the past.

Originally appeared in online INC. 6/17/2021

Flexicrew Support After the Pandemic

To gain  an extra boost for yourself in this job market, contact Flexicrew professionals today. We are a specialist staffing agency who works with key employers of industrial jobs in the area.   We strive to give our candidates opportunities to apply for the jobs they deserve.

 

Here’s How to Handle an Employment Gap

If you have recently had an employment gap and been out of the workforce for some time (even extended time) you are not alone. Many workers were not working due to a variety of reasons, including:

  • Homeschooled or took care of children
  • Cared for elderly parents or ill family
  • Were afraid to work for fear of bringing home sickness to family members
  • Lost a job
  • Lost means of transportation
  • Tended to personal health issues
  • Traveled at length
  • Pursued personal projects
  • Trained for a different career
  • Completed schooling
  • Simply waited for the right job
  • or merely took a break

Explaining an employment gap

Now you are seeking a job, but you must be well prepared to explain holes in your work history.

But how do you address an employment gap on your resume?

Fill the Employment Gap on Your Resume

Once a resume screener sees you have a job gap, they will wonder why. Once they know why, they want to judge if it will happen again. Give them reasons to believe you’re now prepared to fill the gap. For example, if you have children, explain that you now have childcare or that your homeschooled kids are learning in school which is open. If you were laid off, explain the conditions of your job loss as simply as possible.  Don’t make negative comments about your ex-employer. The point you want to make is that you’re ready and motivated to work and to commit to a new employer.

Remember that it’s the candidate screener’s job to find knowledgeable, talented, and reliable candidates. Studies reveal three-fourths of managers have made a bad hire and nearly two-thirds indicate the negative impact is more severe now than a year ago.  The cost of a bad hire is a risk they want to avoid They can avoid the risk of recruiting someone lacking industry knowledge or with minimal work ethic by bypassing applicants with unexplained resume gaps.

So, they are cautious of job applicants with unexplained resume gaps. Hiring managers feel more secure hiring applicants with constant, long-tenure job histories without employment gaps Hiring managers also feel safer hiring candidates with continuous, gapless, long-tenure career histories.

Yet don’t be discouraged.

Just remember what they’re looking for when you decide how to explain gaps in employment.  Employers look at gaps and say to themselves, ‘ you [candidate] seem unlikely to stay here for more than 12 months. I should keep looking for someone who’s more stable.”

Still, having employment gaps on your resume isn’t as bad as many job seekers think it is. Employers understand that there are many justifiable reasons why you might have gaps in your work history. If you can reasonably explain your gaps, employers are unlikely to hold them against you.

Here’s 4 quick tips or explaining employment gaps on your resume:

1.Use your resume summary to briefly explain why you weren’t working during the gap.  To ensure hiring managers understand that your employment gap is a direct result of COVID-19, you may want to include a brief note on your resume or cover letter                explaining that. That should help hiring managers rapidly see why you were/are out of work and may also prevent them from dismissing your resume due to an employment gap. How to Explain Employment Gaps Due to COVID-19 | Indeed.com

  1. Highlight independent projects or volunteer experience you worked on during that time gap.
  2. Explain what you learned or gained during your employment gap.
  3. Provide a convincing cover letter that explains your situation.
How to Fill in Employment Gaps on A Resume If You Still Are Currently Out of Work

If you are currently out of work and are looking for ways to fill your employment gaps, consider some of the options below.

  • Find contract or temp work
  • Start a part-time job in your industry
  • Become a volunteer
  • Get more training

Never be inactive when you are out of work! You should always be moving forward and trying to make a difference in your job or career.

If you have a gap in your resume, you can almost be sure that it will come up during a job interview. There are many reasons why you could decide to take a break from working. Therefore, no matter what the specific reason is, you should be able to respond to questions when asked about it during an interview.

Practice Before You Go to the Job Interview

One way to convince a potential employer that you’ll make them a good employee is to walk into your interview with confidence. The way to do that is to know what to answer to any questions recruiters will ask. Practice your interview skills with a friend or career advisor during a practice interview. Address that employment gap in your mock interview and you’ll be ready for the real thing.

The interviewer is interested in knowing why you were unemployed for some extended time because employment gaps could be a warning sign or a red flag. It’s up to you to think of your reasons prior to the interview so that you fully utilize this opportunity to explain what happened and that you’re ready to move forward. If the interviewers decide to proceed with you in the hiring process, they need more information to make sure that they will not regret it.

For the interviewer, two things are important. First, the timeframe in which you were not employed. Second, how long you have been away from the workforce. For instance, if you had been unemployed for 6 weeks 5 years ago, likely the recruiter won’t worry about it. But, if your unemployment gap was more recent and for a longer period, you need a reasonable explanation that shows it wasn’t due to lack of motivation.

Explaining gaps in employment at your job interview

Honesty

There’s no reason to try to hide gaps when they are visible on your resume. Every person generally must deal with employment gaps, so don’t worry too much about it. If you, for instance, experienced a merger with your company and there were layoffs, just explain this. Don’t worry about a gap of a couple of months to half a year. Explain the gap and the reason for it.

Rationale

If you have an employment gap of over a year, it’s important to substantiate why, but also indicate that you have been busy that year. For example, you can tell the interviewer that you did temporary, seasonal, or volunteer work while still spending time looking for jobs. Also, explain that you remained active and kept your skillset sharp. Ensure that you have a polished version of what kept you busy and engaged during that gap.

style

Give a concise and brief description of the situation. There’s no need to include too many personal details; the interviewers are more interested in the main facts about the reasons for unemployment.

Put it Behind You

Just like the explanation of the situation is important; it’s essential to explain that the situation ended or that it’s not a factor anymore. You need to emphasize this to ensure that the interviewer is not worried about if you need to take another break from working (for whatever reason) anytime soon. Basically, they want to hear that you’re 100% available and committed if they hire you.

Positive Result

Always steer your answer towards a positive endnote in which you emphasize your interest in the position once more. Put the focus back on your job interview and the job you’re applying for.

Flexicrew Support

If you have a gap on your resume and want help to fill it with an expert recruiting service, contact Flexicrew today. And we’ll also teach you how to build a professional portfolio that could help you get hired.

Ask the Flexpert…How to Boost Productivity in Difficult Times

Flexicrew is celebrating June as a month to boost productivity.  We will provide you a guide to increase your monthly productivity, to achieve greater performance, and great results.  Our blog contains proven steps and strategies for how to be a more productive worker (and person) by doing a series of activities daily in the time span of a month. With the help of this blog, we will focus you to reach multiple goals

throughout the month.  We will provide activities that will surely motivate you to become a more productive worker.Characiture of Flexpert

Make sure that you take note of your progress by keeping a journal on hand. Write in your journal after you have started or completed activities.  At the end of the month  you’ll see some positive changes. You see, if you focus on important activities, you won’t feel like being productive is overwhelming and that it cannot be done. This blog will help you realize that 30 days of productivity will really do wonders in your work and even in your life.

Habits and the Mind

We are shaped by our habits.  Useful and harmful ones fight each other for command of our minds. By discipline and willpower alone it’s possible to unlearn useless habits and change your behavior.

The key is persistence. Often you will need many months to see the results, so don’t surrender early.

By watching your mind regularly, you can start noticing recurrent patterns.  But the core idea is that you can adapt your workflow to these states instead of resisting them.

Procrastination itself can have different causes — maybe the task is too complex or too boring, fear of failure or simple laziness. Even a slight presence of these negative factors can make us go for instant rewards instead of doing something that will create a better future in the long term.

Avoiding work is similar — these are just the thoughts of what you don’t like about your tasks and what you would rather do. But you are not your thoughts, and they have no power over you until you feed them with attention. You can ignore them like a background noise by keeping your focus on your goals.

Preview of Boost Productivity Articles

Here is a preview of  what you’ll learn… Why work in short bursts;  Methods to Own Your Workspace; Goal Setting Tips;  Self Improvement Adjustments; Steps to Boost Productivity, and  more.

As we begin to enter the next phase, now is a great opportunity to implement good work habits to maximize their productivity and return to business with greater focus than ever.

Stay Sane During COVID: Stay Grounded By Accepting Reality

It has been difficult to stay grounded during the pandemic.  By this point, your nerves are frayed, and your hands chapped from all the handwashing and sanitizing. It has been a lot.

Of course, that’s nothing compared to those who have fallen ill, passed away, or ‘recovered’ with lasting effects. The two are related, by doing the first things we are certain we can prevent the latter thing from occurring.

Stay grounded during pandemic

It’s certainly a good way to mitigate the risk. Lots of kids are at home, with many schools yet to return, a lot of people are working from home or laid off. We have not met our friends and family in-person for what seems like forever. For a time, the grocery shelves were wiped out and people were spending an hour in line in hopes of fulfilling their list.

Life has changed in a series of big and small ways due to COVID-19. The only highlight of this is that everyone else is going through it, too. We are all going through this same tumultuous event and we’re all in it together. At least, we should be.

There is nothing funny about a pandemic, but it’s important to stay grounded. As difficult as it seems, it’s important to accept reality and not catastrophize about what hasn’t yet happened. We all cope differently with horrible situations, and we all struggle with our locus of control.

The Acceptance of Reality

There are things you can do to exercise control in this situation. Focus on those things to reduce your risk. Firstly, it’s important that you sleep well, eat well, and move often. Those are basics of life that stand true in normal times and during a pandemic.

It’s also important that you pay attention to social distancing. If you’re allowed to have contact with others, then do so, but do it safely. That means wearing a mask, handwashing, and sanitizing often. A bit of anxiety can be productive if it is causing you to take proper precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. If we didn’t have a level of reasonable worry, then no one would take the appropriate measures to protect themselves and others.

There is unproductive anxiety, too. Where you allow it to spin out of control by imaging what would happen if you caught it, or your child caught it, or someone you know caught it. It’s happened to other people so it’s not ridiculous to imagine that someone close to you could catch a highly communicable disease.

You can counteract thoughts like that by focusing on the present. Remind yourself you are safe at home as you cook dinner, binge watch, play with your kids, or complete your workday.

You can think about it all day, but it won’t change anything, and it won’t make you feel better.

Staying Sane

What began as a tragic story on the news has become a very real threat to our world. In all likelihood, you know someone who has been touched by COVID-19, if not you personally. Stay grounded; you are not minimizing the pandemic or sticking your head in the sand. You are simply taking the necessary steps to protect your mental health and stay sane. Think of all the steps you have been taking to protect your physical health.

Now think about what steps you have taken to protect your emotional and mental health. With that in mind, what are you going to do to ensure you stay grounded by accepting the reality of the pandemic while avoiding worrying about things that have not happened.

State & Local Financial Resources for Businesses to Combat Coronavirus Challenges

If your business missed applying for PPP loans or didn’t quality, the federal government has approved Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for small businesses in all 50 states. This relief is offered via the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Targeted EIDL Advances

As of April 7, 2021, a new round of EIDL Advances, called Targeted EIDL Advances, was launched. It’s important to note that the combined amount of the Targeted EIDL Advance and any previously received Advance will not exceed $10,000.

The Targeted EIDL Advances differ slightly than previous EIDL grants. Businesses are only eligible if they meet ALL the following criteria:

  • Located in a low-income community, as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code. Check the mapping tool to see if you’re in an area that qualifies.
  • Suffered economic loss greater than 30 percent, as demonstrated by an 8-week period beginning on March 2, 2020, or later, compared to the previous year. You will be required to provide the total amount of monthly gross receipts from January 2019 to the current month-to-date.
  • Must have 300 or fewer employees. Business entities normally eligible for the EIDL program are eligible, including sole proprietors, independent contractors, and private, nonprofit organizations. However, agricultural enterprises, such as farmers and ranchers, are not eligible to receive the Targeted EIDL Advance.

While there isn’t an available application, be on the lookout for an email invite from the SBA to apply, as it’s the ONLY way to apply. Just to be sure, you can search your inbox for this domain now – @sba.gov – to be positive you haven’t received it already.

Businesses that received a previous EIDL Advance less than $10,000 will have first priority to apply for the Targeted EIDL Advance, followed by businesses that applied before December 21 but did not receive because available funding was exhausted. They take several weeks to be sent out fully, so don’t fret if you don’t get it right away.

If you receive an email and qualify, you may be asked to provide an IRS Form 4506-T for tax information purposes.

For more info about the Targeted EIDL Advances, read more here. Here is a list of FAQ’s from the SBA’s website about the grants for more information.

FAQs

This program offers:

  • Loans of up to $2 million
  • Interest rates of 3.75% (2.75% for non-profits)
  • Collateral of $25,000 for all loans (might be waived in some cases)
  • 30-year repayment terms
  • Funds within 14-20 days
  • Cash advances of up to $10,000 upon application that DO NOT need to be repaid
PPP vs EIDL Loan

We’ve pulled some of the most important distinctions between PPP and EIDL loan properties for you (but can read them for yourself here):

  • While the PPP loan is forgivable, the EIDL loan is not (the $10,000 advance is actually a grant and does NOT require repayment)
  • There are fewer restrictions on what you can spend EIDL loans on, making them a perfect avenue to invest in marketing or other business growth efforts
  • PPP lenders are regulated lenders like banks, while the SBA handles EIDL loans
  • There is a personal guarantee required for EIDL loans exceeding $200,000
  • The SBA will place a UCC lien against your assets for collateral
  • You can still apply for an EIDL loan even if you haven’t filed your 2019 taxes. However, you will be asked to submit IRS form 4506T, which provides the SBA with access to your previous tax returns

You can read more about EIDL loans here. You can begin the official application process online here.

Flexicrew

Our priority here at Flexicrew is to keep businesses like yours informed about COVID-19 — to stay up to date on developments.

CDC Guidance Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility

Every Day and When Someone is Sick

Updated by CDC Apr. 5, 2021

The virus that causes COVID-19 can land on surfaces. It’s possible for people to become infected if they touch those surfaces and then touch their nose, mouth, or eyes. In most situations, the risk of infection from touching a surface is low. The most reliable way to prevent infection from surfaces is to regularly wash hands or use hand sanitizer.

Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces can also reduce the risk of infection.

Always follow standard practices and appropriate regulations specific to your type of facility for minimum standards for cleaning and disinfection. This guidance is indicated for buildings in community settings and is not intended for healthcare settings or for other facilities where specific regulations or practices for cleaning and disinfection may apply.

When to Clean and When to Disinfect

Cleaning with products containing soap or detergent reduces germs on surfaces by removing contaminants and may also weaken or damage some of the virus particles, which decreases risk of infection from surfaces.

When no people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 are known to have been in a space, cleaning once a day is usually enough to sufficiently remove virus that may be on surfaces and help maintain a healthy facility.

Disinfecting (using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s List Nexternal icon) kills any remaining germs on surfaces, which further reduces any risk of spreading infection.

You may want to either clean more frequently or choose to disinfect (in addition to cleaning) in shared spaces if certain conditions apply that can increase the risk of infection from touching surfaces:

If there has been a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean AND disinfect the space.

Routine Cleaning

Develop Your Plan

Picture of workers cleaning facility

Determine What Needs to Be Cleaned

Consider the type of surface and how often the surface is touched. Generally, the more people who touch a surface, the higher the risk. Prioritize cleaning high-touch surfaces.

Determine How Often To Clean

  • High-touch surfaces should be cleaned at least once a day.
  • More frequent cleaning might be needed when the space is occupied by young children and others who may not consistently wear masks, wash hands, or cover coughs and sneezes.
  • If the space is a high traffic area, or if certain conditions apply, you may choose to clean more frequently.

Determine If Regular Disinfection Is Needed

In most situations, regular cleaning (at least once a day) is enough to sufficiently remove virus that may be on surfaces. However, if certain conditions apply, you may choose to disinfect after cleaning.

Consider the Resources and Equipment Needed

Keep in mind the availability of cleaning products and the personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate for cleaners and disinfectants (if needed).

Implement

Clean High-Touch Surfaces

Clean high-touch surfaces at least once a day or as often as determined is necessary. Examples of high-touch surfaces include: pens, counters, shopping carts, tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, stair rails, elevator buttons, desks, keyboards, phones, toilets, faucets, and sinks.

Protect Yourself and Other Cleaning Staff

  • Ensure cleaning staff are trained on proper use of cleaning (and disinfecting, if applicable) products.
  • Wear gloves for all tasks in the cleaning process.
  • Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds after cleaning. Be sure to wash your hands immediately after removing gloves.
    • If hands are visibly dirty, always wash hands with soap and water.
    • If soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol, and wash with soap and water as soon as you can.
  • Special considerations should be made for people with asthma. Some cleaning and disinfection products can trigger asthma. Learn more about reducing your chance of an asthma attack while disinfecting to prevent COVID-19.

Disinfect Safely When Needed

If you determine that regular disinfection may be needed

  • If your disinfectant product label does not specify that it can be used for both cleaning and disinfection, clean visibly dirty surfaces with soap or detergent before disinfection.
  • Use a disinfectant product from the EPA List Nexternal icon that is effective against COVID-19. Check that the EPA Registration numberexternal icon on the product matches the registration number in the List N search tool. See Tips on using the List N Toolexternal icon.
  • Always follow the directions on the label to ensure safe and effective use of the product. The label will include safety information and application instructions. Keep disinfectants out of the reach of children. Many products recommend keeping the surface wet with a disinfectant for a certain period (see product label).
  • Always take necessary safety precautions.
    • Ensure adequate ventilation while using the product.
    • Wear gloves. Gloves should be removed carefully to avoid contamination of the wearer and the surrounding area. Additional PPE, such as glasses or goggles, might be required depending on the cleaning/disinfectant products being used and whether there is a risk of splash.
  • Use chemical disinfectants safely! Always read and follow the directions on the label of cleaning and disinfection products to ensure safe and effective use.
    • Wear gloves and consider glasses or goggles for potential splash hazards to eyes.
    • Ensure adequate ventilation (for example, open windows).
    • Use only the amount recommended on the label.
    • If diluting with water is indicated for use, use water at room temperature (unless stated otherwise on the label).
    • Label diluted cleaning or disinfectant solutions.
    • Store and use chemicals out of the reach of children and pets.
    • Do not mix products or chemicals.
    • Do not eat, drink, breathe, or inject cleaning and disinfection products into your body or apply directly to your skin. They can cause serious harm.
    • Do not wipe or bathe people or pets with any surface cleaning and disinfection products.

Alternative Disinfection Methods

  • The effectiveness of alternative surface disinfection methodsexternal icon, such as ultrasonic waves, high intensity UV radiation, and LED blue light against the virus that causes COVID-19 has not been fully established.
  • CDC does not recommend the use of sanitizing tunnels. Currently, there is no evidence that sanitizing tunnels are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19. Chemicals used in sanitizing tunnels could cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation or injury.
  • In most cases, fogging, fumigation, and wide-area or electrostatic spraying is not recommended as a primary method of surface disinfection and has several safety risks to consider.

Clean and Disinfect Specific Types of Surfaces

Soft surfaces such as carpet, rugs, and drapes

  • Clean the surface using a product containing soap, detergent, or other type of cleaner appropriate for use on these surfaces.
  • Launder items (if possible) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely.
  • If you need to disinfect, use a product from EPA List Nexternal icon approved for use on soft surfaces
  • Vacuum as usual.

Laundry such as clothing, towels, and linens

  • Use the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely.
  • It is safe to wash dirty laundry from a person who is sick with other people’s items.
  • If handling dirty laundry from a person who is sick, wear gloves and a mask.
  • Clean clothes hampers or laundry baskets according to guidance for surfaces.
  • Wash hands after handling dirty laundry.

Electronics such as tablets, touch screens, keyboards, remote controls, and ATM machines

  • Consider putting a wipeable cover on electronics, which makes cleaning and disinfecting easier.
  • Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations for cleaning the electronic device.
  • For electronic surfaces that need to be disinfected, use a product on EPA List Nexternal icon that meets manufacturer’s recommendations. Many of the products for electronics contain alcohol because it dries quickly.

Outdoor areas

  • Spraying cleaning products or disinfectants in outdoor areas – such as on sidewalks, roads, or groundcover – is not necessary, effective, or recommended.
  • High-touch surfaces made of plastic or metal, such as grab bars, play structures, and railings, should be cleaned regularly.
  • Cleaning and disinfection of wooden surfaces (such as wood play structures, benches, tables) or groundcovers (such as mulch and sand) is not recommended.

Clean and Disinfect Your Facility When Someone is Sick

If there has been a sick person or someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in your facility within the last 24 hours, you should clean and disinfect the spaces they occupied.

Before cleaning and disinfecting

  • Close off areas used by the person who is sick and do not use those areas until after cleaning and disinfecting.
  • Wait as long as possible (at least several hours) before you clean and disinfect.

While cleaning and disinfecting

  • Open doors and windows and use fans or HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) settings to increase air circulation in the area.
  • Use products from EPA List Nexternal icon according to the instructions on the product label.
  • Wear a mask and gloves while cleaning and disinfecting.
  • Focus on the immediate areas occupied by the person who is sick or diagnosed with COVID-19 unless they have already been cleaned and disinfected.
  • Vacuum the space if needed. Use a vacuum equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and bags, if available.
    • While vacuuming, temporarily turn off in-room, window-mounted, or on-wall recirculation heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to avoid contamination of HVAC units.
    • Do NOT deactivate central HVAC systems. These systems provide better filtration capabilities and introduce outdoor air into the areas that they serve.
  • It is safe to wash dirty laundry from a person who is sick with COVID-19 with other people’s items, if needed.
  • Ensure safe and correct use and storage of cleaning and disinfectant products, including storing such products securely and using PPE needed for the cleaning and disinfection products.

If less than 24 hours have passed since the person who is sick or diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in the space, clean and disinfect the space.

If more than 24 hours have passed since the person who is sick or diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in the space, cleaning is enough. You may choose to also disinfect depending on certain conditions or everyday practices required by your facility.

If more than 3 days have passed since the person who is sick or diagnosed with COVID-19 has been in the space, no additional cleaning (beyond regular cleaning practices) is needed.

Future of Work Post-2020

Survey: Did 2020 Change the Workplace Forever?

The survey was conducted online among 201 Human Resources executives from companies of various sizes and industries nationwide. Responses were collected March 2nd through March 12th, 2021.

Flexibility Continues for Workers beyond COVID-19

Over 84% of companies responded they are offering some flexibility to workers during this time. Of those, 64% report offering flexibility to all employees, and 40% are offering flexibility specifically to parents and caregivers. Nearly 13% report offering child care options during this time, and 23% increased paid time off offerings.

When asked if this flexibility will extend past the pandemic, 95% of companies reported some or all elements of the newly instituted flexibility will continue. Just 4% of companies reported they will eventually return to pre-pandemic routines.

Meanwhile, 6% of the 96% of companies that moved all or part of their workforces to remote work situations plan to return to their pre-pandemic remote work policies. Another 4% will not keep workers remote, and 5% are still determining what they will do. That means 84.2% of companies are retaining new remote work options for their teams.

“Remote work is the work of the future. Positions that were previously thought to be perpetually in person, such as customer service or other client-facing roles, were successfully converted to remote positions during the pandemic. This will continue with the adoption of artificial intelligence and robotics in the coming decades,” said Challenger.

Flexicrew Staffing

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way companies work and supervise workers.  Visit Flexicrew blog to keep updated on workforce trends and changes.  If your company is having difficulty recruiting all the quality talent necessary, contact our professional recruiters Today!

4 Simple Tips to Enhance Workplace Communication

Regular interaction between employees can greatly improve the work culture and productivity in an organization. Communicating effectively at the workplace will greatly improve relationships between employees and help in completing important projects faster. Better communication greatly improves the performance of the employees at work, while making the team members trust each other.  And that trust interestingly lends itself to improved self-esteem.

workplace-communication 4

Research information indicates that organizations where employees communicate well with each other are likely to have a turnover rate for employees which is approximately half the average for the industry sector.

Periodically every person is likely to find that he is not able to communicate effectively with others due to various reasons. These can lead to misunderstanding with others and irritation.

Some methods for improving communication between team members are discussed below. These are some of the simplest techniques which the organization can incorporate in the daily routine of the employees and improve the relationships between team members and other employees, making them more responsive.

Improve Trust Levels

If the employee trusts the manager or other senior employees, he is more likely to contact the manager and inform him about any kind of problem which he faces at the initial stage if he can’t solve it himself. Hence to improve the trust levels, managers should develop a rapport with their employees first. For example, when a new employee joins the organization and is undergoing the orientation process, the supervisor could take the new employee for lunch with other team members. During the lunch, the employees should discuss their life, habits, approach to life instead of business. Though this may not take much effort, it is a very effective icebreaker, improving communication between team members significantly and quickly.

Offer Compliments in a Better Way

Though the manager can use the standard term “great job” to compliment the employee who has done the work assigned well, it is usually not very helpful. However, in some cases, the employee may get confused, since he will wonder which specific aspect of the job was done well, so that he could replicate it later. Instead, the manager should focus on the specific aspects of the task or work done by the employee, so that he knows his strength and specifically what got him the praise.

Give Feedback Which is Constructive

Most employees have received negative feedback from their supervisor delivered in a harsh tone, which destroys trust and communication permanently. So, while giving feedback it is important to review the specific action, and not pass comments on the character of the employee. The worker should be given the opportunity to share their views and help in a positive way.

Processes Should be Streamlined

If the organization is working on a very large project, with many stakeholders, there is likely to be communication letdown between the employees at some stage. This malfunction should be used to improve the process and prevent similar problems in future, removing any hurdles which the employees face. When the employees are informed about the process changes, the manager can also get feedback from the staff on the effectiveness of the processes, to make necessary charges in future if required.

On a Final Note

Effective communication within the workspace plays a crucial role in improvement of a business and success of any organization. When communicating, nonverbal communication must also be considered. How a supervisor or subordinate delivers a message has a lot of effect on the meaning of of that communication and the resulting action.

Improve Communication with a Staffing Agency’s Support

Flexicrew can help improve your work environment communication, reduce your anxiety and stress by assisting you with workforce planning and recruiting the quality talent that you need in this uncertain time.  Contact one of our workforce professionals Today!