Enterprise contact tracing: crawl, walk and then run

As companies plan their get back to work efforts, contact tracing is a critical piece to understanding when employees may have been in contact with someone who has the virus. For those business leaders who are asked to deploy enterprise contact tracing systems, this can be an entirely new challenge.

We know from many recent conversations with C-suite executives that standing up and implementing contact tracing systems prior to the physical return to work can be a source of stress and confusion to company leaders. This is completely understandable, given this situation is brand new to most organizations. Contact tracing is a multifaceted process involving a complex mesh of issues around technology, training, facilities cleaning, privacy and more.To be executed efficiently, it will require the cooperation of not only executive leadership, but also legal, HR, IT and operations.

But there’s good news: employer-led contact tracing doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Our work implementing contact tracing with organizations of all shapes and sizes has pointed us to an effective system based on a well-understood approach in the technology community. Deploying a ‘crawl, walk, run’ model can enable you to quickly harness existing resources to give your employees confidence, examine the effectiveness of these resources, and then begin to consider adopting new technology when there’s a need.

Start to crawl: Assess your current assets

Rather than trying to solve all contact tracing issues at once, break up the elements that make up the process and tackle them one at a time. Pick something as simple as movement around the workplace. Can you use an existing ID card system to identify and track which doors people move in and out of throughout the work day? By leveraging an existing system that employees are already familiar with, you’ll be able to deploy a simple contact tracing with little additional training and/or expense. If you don’t already have a digital card-based entry system, the same result can be achieved manually by assigning a staff member to each door to collect this information and store it in a private- and health-conscious way. With this relatively simple first step, you are already moving and have the bones of a simple contact tracing system in place.

Begin to walk: Place a perimeter around your people and spaces

After you’ve begun to meet the basic obligations of a contact tracing program, ask next — is it possible to section-off different areas of the building to decrease the risks associated with employees interacting with locations or people outside of the workplace during the workday? Again, this could be through access to different floors or walkways based on existing access card systems. Through this manageable step, you can distance your workforce in designated areas, limiting the health and safety risk of people from different environments outside of the organizations mixing together in close proximity. You’re already moving into a more advanced approach beyond basic compliance.

Run when you can and need to: Tech adoption is not one size fits all

Beyond the simple examples above, there are many advanced systems being developed as we speak for employer-led contact tracing, including facial recognition, thermal cameras, geo-fenced tracking systems in lanyards or apps, and more. Each of these technological innovations brings increased complexity, and though some organizations will certainly take advantage of these systems, they’re not necessary for every organization. Enterprise leaders will have to make a determination around the contact tracing system that makes the most sense for their employees, from the most basic to the most digitally-forward.

While there’s no ‘one size fits all’ blueprint to follow, the most critical aspects to consider when deploying a contact tracing system are:

• The health and safety of your employees as a result of the measures you take, and the trust you build with them by taking a transparent approach to new procedures.
• That processes are clear and action plans are well-understood, including protocols to follow should any incidents that arise.
• Understanding the availability of advanced data-driven technology that can help ease the burden and improve the employee experience.
• Should multiple advanced contact tracing systems be deployed, ensuring that the data they collect is integrated to give business leaders a full picture of their effectiveness, and that this data remains strictly governed and secure.

Domo — help when you need it

At Domo, we’re proud to apply our expert Get Back to Work team to empower our clients, working hand in hand with both public and commercial organizations to deploy effective and transparent contact tracing systems. We enable them through the crawl, walk and run stages through data-driven, purpose-built products that are transparent to employees and enable fast decision-making for executives by pulling all relevant information in front of both executives and employees when they need it.

Our approach includes:

• Crisis response framework – The creation of a roadmap and actionable plan to create a continuously safe environment your employees can trust.
• Flexible apps build on the Domo platform that enable your business to manage the new normal.
• Continuous support, so that your approach can evolve in response to the constantly changing post-pandemic environment.

If you’d like to get some advice on your approach and hear more about how others are solving these problems in real-time then please contact us at our Get Back to Work Command Center.