Skip to main content

How Employees Benefit from the Hard Rock SAFE + SOUND Program

In mid-June, Hard Rock International announced its plans to reopen company-owned Hard Rock Cafe locations in the United States and Europe, in compliance with recommendations from national and local health officials. To help keep guests and team members safe and healthy, the company implemented  SAFE + SOUND, a new program featuring stringent guidelines developed in collaboration with leading worldwide health and sanitization partners like ECOSURE and the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF).

To learn more about this program and how staff members, in particular, are benefitting from the stringent safety measures, HT interviewed Tom Perez, Area Vice President of Development and Operations - Americas.

Advertisement - article continues below
Advertisement
Source: Hard Rock International / Photo Credit: Ralph Notaro

How are employee temperatures checked prior to working?

As part of our SAFE + SOUND protocol, we are requiring all guests and team members to participate in a state-of-the-art, non-intrusive thermal temperature screening process before entering each Hard Rock Cafe location, as well as incorporating elements of each location's local, government mandated policies in our protocol. For example, Cafes will have a dedicated 'Clean Team' in-restaurant, focusing on regularly sanitizing all high-touch areas, including restrooms, tables, seating, menus and door handles. Additionally, there will be full sanitization of the location each night.

How else are staff members cleared for working?

Team members are required to take an online “Back to Work” Safety Course upon return, and they are required to answer the CDC outlined health questions before they enter work each day.

Does Hard Rock International provide contact tracing?

We have a dedicated team and protocol for contact tracing and utilize technology to assist as needed.

Source: Hard Rock International / Photo Credit: Ralph Notaro

How are staff members trained on COVID-19 safety measures?

To ensure we meet the highest standards of safety, sanitation, food handling and employee training, we’ve implemented several measures for our team members, including extensive employee training on COVID-19 precautionary measures, continuous employee hand washing, providing hand sanitation stations throughout the premises and mandatory facial covering/masks and gloves for all employees.

The training is continuous and ongoing as the pandemic evolves.

How else is Hard Rock International ensuring the safety of its employees?

The well-being of our team members is one of Hard Rock’s top priorities, so we have implemented several policies to ensure we are providing staff with a safe and healthy environment. As soon as guests arrive at the Cafe, we request that they use the hand sanitizer provided throughout the premises, as well as cooperate with the temperature checks and any locally mandated health declarations. Additionally, we ask that guests respect physical distancing guidelines, seating configuration and utilize a contactless payment method or bank card rather than cash. Further steps being taken are outlined below.

  • Reduced capacities at all venues
  • Enforcing physical distancing through the use of floor markings in queue lines. Even guest and employee restrooms have social distancing.
  • Contactless menus. We offer QR codes of every menu for the guests to scan as well as one time disposable menus.
  • Abundant PPE.  Masks, gloves and sanitizer stations are available at each venue for our guests. Soon we will be also placing temp self-screening devices throughout the property so guests can screen themselves throughout the course of the day if they feel the need to do so.

 

Source: Hard Rock International / Photo Credit: Ralph Notaro

What partnerships have you formed recently to help create the SAFE + SOUND program?

Over the past few months, we worked tirelessly to develop the SAFE + SOUND program in collaboration with leading worldwide health and sanitization partners like ECOLAB, the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services for over 100 years across 170 countries, and NSF International, formerly known as the National Sanitation Foundation, a global leader in public health and safety, working to protect the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the health care products we use and the environment we all share.

Further, we have worked primarily with two technological partners on temperature screening aspects for both guests and team members. Specifically, we worked with Unity Temperature Management Systems for the handheld and high volume, high throughput/crowd thermal imaging and scanning, as well as with Certify for individual temperature taking and facial recognition stations.

X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds