Your guide to the cold and flu season

With the cold and flu season upon us, it’s almost inevitable that your business is bound to have employees fall ill.

Some companies have even seen staff suffer from COVID-19 shortly followed by the flu or a cold afterwards. However, even after they’ve returned to a normal healthy state, your job isn’t finished.

Cold and flu viruses can stay infectious for extended periods of time, sometimes for even several hours to days, depending on what kind of surface the droplets fall on. This is one of the many ways how infections spread so quickly.

Proper cleaning and maintaining a clean indoor environment is your best line of defence when it comes to stopping these germs from spreading.

Here we take a look at some steps and products you can put in place to minimise the risks of your staff suffering from the cold and flu season this winter.

Encourage good hygiene practices

All workplace environments need to be hygienic and safe for both employees and visitors, with additional practices necessary for the hospitality industry.

To minimise the chances of spreading the flu, the Australian Department of Health recommends using soap and water wherever possible and a hand sanitiser if soap and water are unavailable.

To ensure better hygiene occurs in the workplace, putting up signs reminding staff of the correct handwashing procedures can be helpful. 

Our recommended choice is the Purell Soap Dispensers that are wall-mounted, always ready and have a touch-free design.

It has an elegant modern look, and each new refill comes with its own energy source - a coin cell battery integrated into the refill.

After hands have been thoroughly cleaned, the best medical practice is to dry them with a paper towel.

The Tork Roll White H1 is our preferred choice with its high storage capacity, easy-load function and one towel at a time dispensing design.

In circumstances where soap and water are not an option, having sanitisers around the place of business is your best option.

For example, at areas of reception, checkout kiosks, and the entrance areas.

Hand sanitisers contain antiseptic ingredients that kill microorganisms on the skin and prevent their growth.

They are vital as part of good hygiene practice to reduce the risk of cold and flu around the workplace.

We recommend using Purell’s Hand Sanitiser Dispenser due to it’s touch-free capability, green certification and optimal dose design for effective hand hygiene.

Provide plenty of sanitation supplies

 The key to making staff and guests adhere to a clean place of business is by making access to sanitation supplies convenient.

These include disinfecting wipes, non-rinse sanitisers, and liquid disinfectants.

Disinfecting wipes are great as they help speed up the process of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces because they don’t need any preparation before using them.

Use Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes that are of hospital grade, kill cold & flu viruses in 15 seconds and contain a fresh scent smell.

Safe to use in offices, athletic facilities, hospitality areas, daycare centres and food services facilities.

Non-rinse sanitisers are industry standard for controlling the spread of bacteria and viruses by killing 99% of bacteria without the need to rinse after application.

The Solutions® S2 Sanitiser Non-Rinse is designed for use in food preparation areas where an extremely high level of hygiene is required.

S2 Sanitiser Non Rinse can be used to soak cutting boards, knives, tongs, and utensils and to sanitise cold rooms, store rooms, larders and chopping blocks.

Disinfectants, on the other hand, are needed for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

Agar™ CounterFlu is a popular choice because it’s a hospital-grade disinfectant with a powerful cleaning action that kills viruses, including COVID-19, flu, germs, bacteria, fungi and mould.

It is ideal for cleaning and disinfecting all hard surfaces.

Overall, the cold and flu season is something that all staff dread.

But if managed properly, it doesn’t have to be a huge disaster for your business with numerous employees taking sick leave.

Taking advantage of good workplace hygiene practices, proper cleaning and providing access to plenty of sanitation supplies is your best way of preventing and minimising the cold and flu seasons effect.

Reach out to your Hanleys Account Manager today for pricing and support.