No matter what kind of business you run, your employees’ health, safety, and wellbeing should be your top concern. You need to consider things you might not have thought of like floor safety. Whether you operate in an office, retail store or construction site, you have a duty of care to keep your staff safe and protected. If you’re about to launch a startup, or you’re an established business, you need to stop and think about how often workplace safety is discussed.
Understanding the most serious workplace injuries and frequently inspecting your workplace for potential dangers in work design and equipment should be your first step in keeping your team safe. Here are five key tips that can help you improve safety.
Thoroughly Train Employees
When hiring employees in your business, they must receive extensive training in health and safety. If you work in an office, handle machinery, or operate a construction site, staff members must be aware of the hazards and know what steps to take to minimize the risk of injury. It’s your responsibility to ensure all employees have access to safety training for their roles.
Even if you have long-term staff members, you should conduct regular safety training to keep employees up to date with your protocol.
Reward Your Team for Safe Behavior
To encourage workplace safety effectively, you may want to consider rewarding your team. Establishing a safety culture and keeping your team engaged and interested can be hard work, which is why you should provide incentives to ensure they follow safety guidelines. However, there is a flip side to this. If you begin rewarding employees for every little thing they do, you will begin promoting the wrong mentality, which can compromise safety guidelines. Above anything else, make sure your workforce knows how important it is to follow the rules.
Use Labels and Signs
One of the easiest ways to quickly communicate critical information is by using labels and signs around the workplace. They are usually simple and rely on photos that outline hazards and proper procedures. Whether it’s a ‘do not touch’ or a ‘risk of fire’, your employees will take note of labels and signs. These tools are great warnings and reminders for your workforce.
Keep Things Clean
If you have an untidy workplace, the risk of accidents will rise significantly. Whether you operate a warehouse or have stacks of paper, make sure that boxes are safely stacked, and any spills are cleaned up immediately. Before the working day begins, it’s your job to thoroughly inspect the workplace for any potential hazards, including messy floors, tangled wires, and disorganized tools. Getting rid of clutter is key for keeping your team safe and protected at work.
Hold Regular Meetings
There is nothing wrong with being over-prepared. Whether you’re about to launch a business, or you have any concerns about your existing operation, you must hold frequent meetings on workplace safety. These moments can be a good opportunity to analyze and review safety rules and discuss preventative measures that will keep your employee’s safety and security in check. A short safety talk can go a long way with your team. So, conversing with your workforce and being there to address any questions is important. Make sure that your team has regular breaks throughout the day too, which gives them the chance to relax and unwind from their workload and put them in a better frame of mind.
U.S businesses pay an astonishing $62 billion each year for workplace injuries. To keep your team safe and protected at work, you must follow all the advice above and put the tips into practice. If you don’t have appropriate plans in place, you run the risk of workplace injuries, which can have a significant impact on your finances, employee health, revenue, and productivity.
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