In an organization, safety culture is one of the most important aspects of creating a well-rounded, inclusive, and responsible environment for all employees. This is especially true in work environments where manual labor is the center of the company’s operations and where incidents and injuries can be common occurrences. Safety culture involves having a mindset of understanding risks and how to prevent them through reporting unsafe actions and taking the right precautions.

Here are different steps companies can take to boost awareness around safety in the workplace and how employers can keep their employees safe.

Organization Safety Culture Starts at the Top

Support from supervisors and executives is an important part of instilling safety culture throughout a company. It can sometimes seem as though supervisors announce new initiatives throughout the year and then don’t follow through on them. This could cause some distrust to filter down to the employees on staff.

In order to prevent this problem, executives must exercise their belief in the safety culture of a company. Communication should be a priority and relative information and changes should be given to employees. This can help to grow trust between workers and their leaders.

This also includes reviewing your current Workers’ compensation program to make sure employees know they will be provided for when an incident occurs. Having this kind of coverage is mandated by each state, but can vary in what’s offered. Having comprehensive Workers’ compensation, like through Insure My Work Comp, can help to add peace of mind to a company’s safety culture.

Provide Training

This is important for complex and potentially dangerous work environments. Employees may be able to be told what to do when it comes to being safer at work, but they should also know the best practices and how to implement them in their work.

Training should be provided on all safety procedures that will take place on the floor or at a worksite. It shouldn’t be assumed that workers will automatically know them all. For important procedures that could have a lasting physical effect on someone, staff should be re-trained on a regular basis. This will help to ensure that new employees are all up to speed on what dangers they face and how they can avoid them. Training materials and teaching should also be reviewed often to ensure all compliance is in place.

Build a Reporting Process

A good way to encourage safety in the workplace is to implement a reporting program. Employees can report any physical issues that are a threat to their overall health and safety. For instance, an unsafe process that they believe could be improved or an employee they oversaw performing a task unsafely can all be reported.

A reporting system can include several options when it comes to reporting. This could include in-person, by mail or online. It can also help to have an anonymous option to keep names out of the problem at hand. Employees must feel comfortable when reporting an incident and that there is a benefit to being responsible for reporting.

Reward Success

While injuries will continue to be a threat on any work floor, putting an emphasis on safety culture through training and awareness will help to encourage employees to be more responsible and accountable. When the safety culture begins to show results, employees should be congratulated. Management can reward employees and leaders through incentives and recognition, including staff meals.

The ultimate goal should be to keep every employee safe at all times. While this isn’t entirely possible, putting forth the effort to lay a foundation of workplace safety can completely change the dynamic of a business.

About InsureMyWorkComp

InsureMyWorkComp is a digital brokerage that helps clients find the right workers’ compensation solution for their business needs. Unlike other online platforms, we will help you to work with an agent who can provide you the right solution for your risk profile. Our staff has over 50 years of workers’ compensation underwriting and sales experience, and we are confident that we will provide you the support that you need. For more information or to get a quote, contact us today at (855) 340-9138.