The Return to Work: 5 Key Factors When Choosing Indoor Location Technology

Whether an office has already re-opened, is planning to re-open, or never fully closed during the COVID-19 crisis, each business shares two common goals: 1) keep employees and visitors safe; 2) keep the doors open. 

The pandemic has forever changed how we live and how we work. While some governments are gearing up for possible second waves, the U.S. is still in the throes of the first with at least 46 states having either increasing or consistent infection rates.

In this hazy picture, each business leader must ultimately decide how and when to reopen.

There is no rulebook to turn to.

Wide-ranging, important questions must be answered: How will teams return to the physical office? How is each person’s health and safety being prioritized? How will they know if they are at risk, or were at risk of catching COVID? What if an employee does contract the virus? Before a viable vaccine emerges, how is it possible to keep entire offices safe? How much office space is even needed should employees return in alternating stages? 

While apps such as Google maps may provide insight and alerts into coronavirus hot spots and local regulations, it’s inside where indoor location technology plays a fundamental role in ensuring safety – and continuity of business.

But, business leaders must choose wisely. Not all indoor location systems are the same. There are several key attributes one must look for in a turnkey solution that can be trusted to yield meaningful and actionable insights. 

Business leaders must look for a platform that is: 

1. Always-on: A platform that’s connected to the building’s infrastructure and managed in the cloud means it is always available, 24/7, ensuring a fully comprehensive dataset.
2. Scalability: Solutions that use a company’s existing WiFi network reduce the need for installing hundreds or even thousands of battery-powered beacons or desk sensors.
3. Passive: As we’ve seen, relying on people to download and then use an app is not ideal. Experts say at least 60 percent of the population must both download and run an app for it to be effective. Only a handful of apps have ever achieved those penetration levels.   Passive systems are key to capturing high-quality data that generates new insights. 
4. Anonymous: People deserve and will demand data privacy. It’s imperative to select a platform that is GDPR compliant and doesn’t store any personally identifiable information.
5. Accessible: Presenting data on both web and mobile platforms make the information useful, purposeful and always available to leaders and their employees.

This is just a sneak peek of the information compiled in our brand new 5-Step Guide to Return to Work. In it, we also detail our new contract tracing solution InnerSpace inTRACK, which enables businesses to quickly identify the number of people impacted directly and via surface transmission occurrences – an essential tool for keeping workplaces safe and functional.