Sharp focus on safety
THE Sharp Group operates some of the Bellarine Peninsula’s best-known venues, including Leura Park Estate, the Flying Brick Cider House, Jack Rabbit Restaurant and Curlewis Golf Club. Dave Cairns asked director Lyndsay Sharp how the venues were preparing for an easing in lockdown restrictions.
A RECENT study showed that workers in open plan workplaces had a 62 per cent higher incidence of sick leave than those in private or shared cellular offices.
Some are concerned their office layout of shared desks, hot desks, meeting rooms, kitchens, dining areas and breakout spaces may no longer be safe to use and occupy.
Ms Macqueen said small pods with soft furnishings – surfaces that
We are working towards opening the venues at a 50 patron capacity, which has been flagged at this stage for June 22 onwards.
LS: Physical changes will essentially take off from where we left off prior to temporary closure: regulatory 1.5m spacing between tables, an abundance of sanitiser stations, clear tables, tables and chairs totally sanitised after each patron group, menu sanitising stations (we are also researching the activation of e-menus via mobile phones) and the removal of any form of ‘communal’ cutlery units, condiments or water stations.
Additional activations will be a sign-in station prior to entry. Sign-in stations have already activated at Curlewis Golf Club as well as Leura
Park Estate, which opened for takeaway wine and cider sales last week.
We already have branded floor dots to regulate patron distancing and have organised fully-enclosed individual cutlery envelopes, which also contain a napkin and disposable salt and pepper sachets.
COVID-19 has seen tapand-go become the preferred payment method and very small operational aspects, like the receipt printer facing the patron, are already in place.
Wine and cider tastings, for the foreseeable future, will be a thing of the past for health and safety reasons, as will bar service to avoid patron clustering. Each venue will be reopening with table service.
LS: Already all staff are pumped about the potential of returning to work and some
BEYOND the WH&S Act, many organisations have committed to additional safety standards, such as form of normality. With hospitality being very much a people industry, they are missing the customer interaction component of their roles.
Staff engagement and
ORGANISATIONS can regularly educate and update employees on new information relating to COVIDcommunication has been the most important thing during this time. All employees have been receiving email updates from both myself and our HR manager every week. It has been the priority from the
CLEANCORP has had an increase in car fleets requesting full disinfection cleans because they are often working for charities or servicing vulnerable people in the community.
Similarly, NDIS providers have asked for more frequent and substantial cleans due to concerns about their vulnerable communities. And there are instances of government departments requesting antiviral cleans to demonstrate best practices to their stakeholders. onset to ensure that, at every stage of the COVID-19 evolution, everyone knew exactly what was happening, where we stood, where they stood, what we were doing to assist them and over the next few weeks, how re-openings will work in a way that is both empowering and fair to all.
Prior to reopening, in addition to refresher sessions regarding recruitment procedures, purchasing policy, OH&S and first aid/CPR, we will be running a series of management training courses, which should help facilitate strong engagement as well which will flow through to every level.