When working in a fast paced environment, it is easy to forget about other aspects of your business. But when it’s the health and safety of your employees that is being neglected, you are doing more harm to your organization. The aspect is linked to the fact that when safety measures are not enforced regularly, the consequences tend to escalate and more funds are used for medical expenses. As a business owner, you might be tempted to close an eye on Safety and focus on fast-paced environments generating more cash. However, the turbulent outcomes that arise from such assumptions tend to curtail the organization’s productivity in case of an accident. Therefore, instead of waiting to spend more than $300 million for medical expenses and worker’s compensation following an accident, it is prudent to take all the necessary precautions and stay safe. The article will thus explore five safety tips that impact business.
Here are the five safety tips that impact business.
Start from the top
Have you ever heard of the phrase “Do as I say and not as I do?” When it comes to safety, the sentence does not apply. The aspect is linked to the fact that the leaders of an organization are in a better position to champion safety culture. In other words, the art of developing a safety culture in an organization requires leadership to be effective. A good business culture must include administration, working, and keeping safe. When the leaders in an organization lead in implementing safety measures, other subordinates will easily comply.
Conducting Survey across the organization
When executing safety measures in your organization, it is prudent to find out what your employees know about safety as well as their expectations. Are they familiar with the precautions necessary to enhance safety? Do they understand their responsibilities in improving safety? Are they working towards maintaining a safety culture? Such knowledge is critical in identifying the measures to be implemented. In other words, you will be in a position to understand whether you will be required to educate your employees on safety before implementing the necessary measures. Also, such surveys are essential in the sense that you will get anonymous feedback on the perception your employees have on safety.
Conducting Pre-shift Huddles
After conducting useful surveys, the next step involves reinforcing the safety cultures by covering the missing gaps. Newly identified hazards, as well as education gaps, need to be addressed first before the necessary precautions are taken. The implementation of these measures involves the art of providing protective gear that enhances the safety of all the employees. The goal of these huddles is to ensure that an open and non-punitive forum is opened to communicate various safety measures within the organization. In most cases, the first step involves the art of sensitizing the employees on the need to implement these safety measures.
Open Discussion
Open discussions are vital in building trust between the supervisors and employees. In other words, managers can build trust by engaging the employees by conducting safety discussions. Such forums are critical in the sense that they allow the employees to set standards on their own. In other words, your employees will follow all the safety guidelines provided as they were involved in setting them. The managers will thus implement what the employees understand. The associates, or rather the employees who know that their perspectives and opinions are valued, will participate more in communicating about safety measures. Such forums also provide an ideal setting to gain feedback from workers who might not be supporting the standards. Such feedback will help you in identifying some of the strategies that might be useful in enhancing comfort among employees raising concerns over the implementation of these measures.
Performing ongoing training on Safety
A culture of Safety in a working place requires more training for the employees. In other words, after conducting a general survey to estimate what your employees know about Safety, you may have realized that some of them live in darkness on matters pertaining to safety. Such a workforce may experience some difficulties when it comes to the art of implementing safety measures. However, if all the employees have a strong understanding of safety guidelines and the practices that are vital in preventing the occurrence of potential hazards, the art of implementing these measures tend to be easy. The aspect is critical in reducing cases of injury and helps in avoiding costly losses in the productivity of the employees.
One worry that employers have about health and safety training and awareness is that employees won’t engage fully. However, ‘health and safety has, at least to a large extent, solved this problem’, says David Rowland, the head of marketing Engage EHS. This is because the process is much more social and, if you must, you can measure your employees’ engagement in the process.
The art of enhancing Safety among employees increases their confidence, and their productivity is enhanced. In other words, employees tend to work more if their Safety is guaranteed. Therefore training all the employees at your premises is of the essence. Training may involve educating the employees on using some of the equipment at their disposal. For instance, employees may be shown how to use a fire extinguisher in case of an outbreak. In the case of industries involving heavy machinery – like cranes or metal lathes – certifications on how to properly use theses types of equipment are vital. Such sensitization is critical in the sense that it allows the employees to feel safe and work on increasing the productivity of the organization.
In a nutshell, improved Safety in an organization is critical in identifying and addressing hazards as well as the threat that an organization may face. Also, creating a stronger employer branding and positive attitudes towards Safety is critical in enhancing the productivity of your premises . However, without the necessary training among employees, the art of implementing some of the safety guidelines that are necessary for impacting businesses might be difficult. If you are planning to enhance the Safety of your employees, the art of taking the necessary precautions is critical. As a leader of an organization, you need to spearhead some of these precautions and ensure that all your employees are following them. The aspect is linked to the fact that, if your employees are not safe, your life too might be in danger let alone your premises.
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Marcus Clarke is part of the content team at The Long Reach. Marcus has worked in the health and safety industry since graduating from university. When not writing about health and safety practices, Marcus can be found researching new travel locations.
