Essential Guest And Employee Hygiene At Your Caravan Park

European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) estimates that close to 33,000 individuals die annually due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

One of the causes of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is poor sanitation and hygiene practices. As a caravan park or restaurant owner, you have to concentrate on personal hygiene and cleanliness to minimise risks of infection to your staff and clients.

Sick days cost companies in America about $225 billion each year. Supporting workplace hygiene will reduce the workdays lost to avoidable infections.

Keeping your workspace clean and hygienic will also improve your workers' satisfaction and productivity.

Do you know that a workspace desk has 400 times more germs than toilet seats?. Therefore, it’s crucial to maintain a cleaning culture. Proper hygiene will also improve your caravan park’s image.

How can you encourage personal hygiene of visitors and employees in your organisation? Read on to find out.

Establish A Hygiene Policy

A hygiene policy is a regulation that prompts your team members and guests to maintain cleanliness and health safety standards in your establishment.

Various industries, including caravan parks and food and drink businesses, ought to have a standard hygiene policy.

For instance, the Swiss International Hotels and Resorts are very keen on their staff observing high hand hygiene standards.

The following steps will come in handy when creating your workplace hygiene policy.

Outline Personal Hygiene Requirements

All employees at your caravan park have an obligation to maintain high hygiene standards at all times adequate. They should bath every day to maintain a clean body and stay healthy. Indicate that they should trim their nails and regularly wash their hands.

Ensure that they practice oral hygiene and use deodorants or antiperspirants to avoid bad odours.

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Issue Dress Code And Uniform Regulations

Customer service staff who are in regular contact with patrons should wear proper workplace attire.

You should also make sure that male and female employees wear closed shoes as well as branded or plain shirts and blouses respectively.

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Provide Adequate Hygiene Supplies

Provide quality supplies such as gentle paper towels, handwashing soaps and sanitisers to encourage your employees and patrons to take the necessary hygiene steps like handwashing.

Place handwashing soap next to the sink in order to encourage people to use soap when washing their hands. 

Place sanitisers next or close to the handwashing soap to encourage employees and patrons to sanitise their hands after rinsing and drying their hands.

Although these supplies translate to additional costs, they will save you in the long run due to reduced sick days and overtime.

Provide the necessary personal hygiene items to encourage adherence to the policy.

Using crucial hygiene equipment and supplies like hand washing stations, sanitisers, soaps and personal protective gear will prevent illnesses.

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Cleaning products contain potent chemicals that destroy disease-causing microorganisms. They will leave your workspace clean and fragrant. Hygiene supplies will also improve the enthusiasm of your workforce, thus increasing their productivity. 

Make sure you have ample stockpiles of these supplies to minimise cleaning interruptions. 

Ensure you have the following hygiene supplies and equipment:

• Floor Disinfectants

  Floor disinfectants reduce the risk of cross-contamination. According to Warner (Enviro-solutions product manager), there are more than 50 ways we touch the floor. Ensure you acquire floor disinfectants that are safe for use around food.

• PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

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  According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), you should offer appropriate personal protective gear such as gloves and masks to your employees. Using the ideal PPE will reduce exposure to health hazards such as coronavirus. It will also protect employees from chemical splashes or flying debris.

• Sanitisers

  Alcohol-based sanitisers are effective in eliminating bacteria and viruses in your caravan park. Sanitisers are a smart option in the absence of soap. Ensure that your employees have proper knowledge of precise concentrations and dwell times of different sanitisers and disinfectants.

  Dwell time or contact time is the amount of time that a disinfectant or antibacterial agent needs to sit on the surface that is being disinfected in order to be as effective as it’s meant to be. Dwell times for most disinfectants range from 30 seconds to 10 minutes or more.

  If you spray disinfectant on a surface and wipe it off immediately as most people do, it will not be as effective against its target bacteria or fungi type. This is why your caravan park’s employees need to be properly trained in cleaning best practices.

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• Soaps

  Soaps are emulsifiers. They get rid of dirt by allowing oil and water to mix. Soaps surround micro-organisms on your skin and destroy their lipid membranes.

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Provide Employee Training In Your Establishment

Training your employees on the importance of proper cleaning practices will improve effectiveness in cleaning.

When they know the right concentrations and dwell time of disinfectants, they will improve the effectiveness of the product.

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Food handlers within your caravan park need to be properly trained in food safety procedures.

Training your employees will prevent your guests from suffering from allergic reactions and food poisoning. Because you provide high hygiene standards, your guests are likely to return as well as refer others.

If you are contemplating on training your employees on hygiene issues, you may implement the following steps:

• Provide individual training

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  Training your employees individually on hygiene will bring out the best in them because it shows you care about their well being. Address hygiene expectations and existing health issues they might have.

• Give responsibility

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  According to the Kolb principle, people learn through concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation. People require responsibility. The mistakes they make will enable them to learn. Allow your employees to experiment with their new skills in controlled environments.

Hand-Washing Cues And Reminders

Here’s a list of a few ways you can encourage your guests and employees to practice good hand hygiene.

1. Signs and posters.

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   Your staff could forget to practice hand hygiene. Putting signs in strategic locations like kitchens and restrooms assists in reminding them.

   To make your signs stand out, include vivid images, brightly coloured text in large font, and thought-provoking statistics.

   Ensure your notices are visible and straightforward.

2. Conduct periodical refresher training.

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   Teach your employees about the importance of handwashing in your workplace. Tell them how workspace environments can be a breeding ground for viruses and bacteria.

   For instance, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), 80 per cent of all illness spread through hand contact with other people and contaminated surfaces.

Ways Of Encouraging Your Patrons to Practice Hand Hygiene

1. Offer your patrons soap, water, and hand sanitisers upon arriving at your park and check to ensure that they use it.
2. Motivate customers using pictures. Studies show that the mind processes visuals  60000 times quicker than texts.
3. Set good examples of proper handwashing habits by ensuring your employees wash their hands as well. The customers will emulate that culture.

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Partner With ALS for Your Hygiene Solutions

A hygienic caravan park boosts your brand image. Your customers will appreciate the effort, trust you, and invite other potential clients to your caravan park. 

ALS provides convenient and cost-effective hygiene solutions to businesses such as your caravan park. From paper towel dispensers for your kitchen and washrooms to disposable slippers for guests; ALS has got you covered.

Call or email today for personalised solutions to your caravan park’s hygiene needs.

Source: Gustavo Fring