The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t news to anyone at this point. It’s been 2 years and various variants have popped up. Still, only 65.5% of the U.S. population is currently vaccinated. It’s simply not enough.
Still dealing with employees who won’t get vaccinated? To protect yourself and your other employees, try these 5 strategies to finally reach that 100% office vaccination rate!
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Educate Your Employees
The goal isn’t to bash or humiliate your non-vaccinated employees – it’s to educate them. It’s a low-cost strategy that combats misinformation and lack of information that employees might have regarding vaccines. Hold meetings about the importance of vaccines and distribute credible resources from organizations like the WHO and CDC.
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Show Employees That Vaccines Are Readily Available
Compared to the vaccine frenzy of last year when it was almost impossible to book a vaccine appointment – that isn’t the case anymore. On most days, your employees will be able to book an appointment during a time that is most convenient for them. Help your employees find local areas and stress that vaccines don’t cost a single penny. Vaccines are available at doctor offices, clinics, and most pharmacies. Local universities are also a great place to look.
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Give Employees Paid Time Off
Companies like Dollar General, Lyft, and Trader Joe’s are all offering four hours of total pay for getting two doses of the vaccine. Aon is offering all of its employees two days of paid time off for each injection.
It’s important to give time off to employees if they decide to get the vaccine. This way, employees won’t be stressed about missing work. The long-term reward of having a 100% vaccinated team is well worth being less productive and paying out of pocket in the short term.
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Use Incentives
Whether it’s a donut party, some cool merch, or just a wad of bucks – everybody loves a good incentive. It can help push unsure or unwilling employees to your side. This can be done for as little as $100.
According to one study conducted by Kroger, more than a third of its 1,105 respondents agreed to get vaccinated for as little as $100. However, be mindful of employees that are medically or religiously exempt from getting the vaccine. It’s important that you offer them an alternative opportunity so they aren’t left out.
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Use an In-House Spokesperson
By now, at least a handful of your employees are vaccinated (hopefully). Your employees are more trusting of their co-workers than they are of executives and external resources. Use this fact to your advantage! Lean on vaccinated employees and encourage them to act as ambassadors. Ask or incentivize them to share their experience with co-workers about getting the vaccine. Of course, we want to keep things honest and real.