As the country begins to reopen gradually, here in Dane County it appears that the “safer at home” restrictions will lift after Memorial Day. We have used some guidance from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to assist us in preparing for our return to the office, and are also working on developing written policies to comply with the Forward Dane reopening plan.
Clients will be allowed to again schedule in-person meetings with us at their convenience. We have moved the seating areas apart to socially distance. We will do our best to refrain from sharing items, such as passing iPads to each other or office supplies, like pens. We also will not be offering water or coffee in our meetings, so we kindly ask that you bring in your own beverages.
We will not be shaking hands or hugging clients (as much as it pains us!). Clients will not be required to wear masks, but they may wear them if they choose. We will disinfect chairs and wipe down surfaces after each meeting, and our staff will communicate with each other to avoid back-to-back meetings in conference rooms. Additionally, we will attempt to keep clients from having contact with other clients in waiting areas by utilizing both office spaces inside our building.
Our staff will be responsible for disinfecting their workstations as well as washing their hands after any meeting and throughout the day. We will also be encouraging our staff to work remotely from home offices on days where we don’t have in-person meetings scheduled. We will attempt to keep a six foot distance between workstations, as well.
If you are concerned at all about coming in for an in-person meeting, we recommend that you schedule a video conference (“Zoom meeting”) instead. As COVID-19 made us “safer at home”, we all have lots of practice on video conferencing! We believe that with screen sharing and video, we can help give you a virtual experience that is similar to an in-person one, without the drive time or worry. It is our intention to continue to offer 1-2 dedicated days of video conference meetings per week.
As we all continue to navigate through this pandemic, we assure you that we will continue to try to keep you as safe as possible when meeting at our office. For those of you who choose to use a virtual meeting structure, we pledge to you to make your experience as equal to an in-person one as possible. In the end, it’s about giving you choices and meeting your needs. We welcome your feedback and wish you all good health.
The Walkner Condon Team