While many businesses have vaccine verification processes in place for those returning to the workplace now, how will they manage the long-term status of employees who have and haven’t had their booster shots?

Organisations need to think beyond QR codes, apps and vaccine passports to verify employees’ vaccination statuses before they return to the workplace. 

We need to work with COVID-19 as part of our new normal, which will require close public and private sector collaboration to navigate different roadmaps and streamline verification processes to identify which employees are fit to turn to business as usual.

Due to differing state advice, various organisations have been placed in a difficult position in terms of managing workplace vaccination compliance procedures that are not fully developed or don’t take both the short and long-term views into account.

In aged and health care, vaccine verifications are urgently needed to ensure staff will not be at risk of infecting vulnerable people, such as those with underlying health conditions or people in palliative care. In addition to regular COVID-19 testing in aged care facilities, difficulty also lies with managing ongoing vaccination identification mandates.

We’ve also seen schools, universities and construction companies struggling to police necessary vaccinations, due to the high frequency of human contact central to their work.

Keeping tabs on vaccination statuses

Developing ongoing ID management following initial vaccination status verification will be key to protecting employees from vulnerabilities and employers from the risks of an on-site COVID-19 case.

Many employers have now adapted to the mandates and encouraged vaccinations for staff. The next step is to consider how to automate and maintain accurate employee information, while ensuring staff also feel at ease when re-entering workplaces and sharing medical information. 

HR teams should prepare for the upcoming challenges of streamlining processes to track employees’ booster shots, while minimising administrative stress for employers and staff.  

Outside of sector-specific considerations, HR teams need to factor in various worker categories, including casual workers, temporary staff, and those with varying visa rights in Australia. 

International workers without access to Medicare or a National Health ID number may struggle to prove their vaccination status. This means there is a risk of excluding part of the population in communication or information, which we have observed can correlate with employers in tight employment markets, or small business owners. 

Consistently monitoring the workforce is not a one and done process. Private and public sectors will need to work in tandem to create an ID checking system that can protect the whole workforce and prevent potential exposures. 

Current QR code processes and vaccine passports are effective when checking vaccine status at the point of entering a premises and retrospectively monitoring an outbreak, however more proactive identification and verification solutions will be essential in the future.

Integrate it into your processes

Importantly, as your workforce returns to the workplace full-time, integrating vaccine verifications into HR processes shouldn’t mean other essential ID checks should fall by the wayside. This needs to become part and parcel of your normal checks, such as an employee’s criminal history, professional background and non-COVID-19 medical history.

Talk of booster shots are already in full swing, so now it’s time to start putting robust and comprehensive reporting processes in place to manage the upkeep of employees’ vaccination status – many companies already are. 

Not implementing stricter procedures on these fronts may lead to staff taking extended leave, which can impact workplace culture, or they could remain on site potentially place your entire workforce at risk.  

There are existing third-party solutions for mandatory ID checks, including working with children checks and criminal history records that can give employers oversight on returning team members’ various ID verification requirements. Soon, vaccine verification checks will also be assessed quickly in these comprehensive reports, to alleviate any burden on organisations to assess risks at a later, more detrimental stage.

Without the necessary solutions and processes in place, vaccine verifications could add a spanner in the works when identifying who is fit to work.

HR teams will likely benefit from expert support when implementing these solutions, to help manage ongoing employee verification and protect their organisations. 

It will take a collaborative public and private sector effort to drive this development, alongside national implementation. We need to ensure HR teams have the tools they need to protect their organisation from emerging external health risks. 

Brian Coe is the Vice President of Human Resource solutions for Equifax. His passion for people manifested in obtaining his bachelor’s degree in Human Resource management.