Employers need to play an active role in providing their personnel with a reasonably safe working environment. Their initiatives must instill their workforces with individual and collective accountability for the safety of working conditions. Here are ways that employers can assign appropriate emphasis to safety in their companies’ policies and operations management.
Create Comprehensive Policies
Having clear directives about safety procedures eliminates uncertainty about the safe way to perform certain tasks. Written policies about workplace safety should be a part of employee handbooks, and managers should take practical steps to offer one-on-one counseling to employees about how policies factor into employees’ performance of their regular job duties.
Underscore the Importance of Safety Policies During Onboarding
Incorporating safety training and policy acknowledgement requirements into the onboarding process is a good way to ensure that employees recognize the function of specific health and safety measures in a company’s operations. From day one, employees need access to all of the relevant information that they need to protect their health while they are on the job.
Hold Ongoing Safety Meetings
Safety training for employees should continue beyond the onboarding process. Having regular safety meetings keeps safety concerns at the forefront of people’s minds. Ongoing meetings are an excellent opportunity to address concerns as they develop and ensure that every team member is on the same page about expectations involving safety.
Utilize Resources Efficiently
Companies should utilize guidance and training resources from OSHA to evaluate and enhance their current safety procedures. It may be advantageous to seek out a third-party evaluation from a consultant that has specialized expertise in industry-specific practices. Likewise, a professional evaluation of workplace ergonomics can reduce the incidence of occupational injuries.
The allocation of resources to safety initiatives shows employees that a company takes occupational risks very seriously. In turn, workers will be likely to recognize the importance of safety concerns and remain conscientious about relevant dangers in the performance of their day-to-day activities.
Use Signage Strategically
Visual tools in the workplace can remind employees to follow policies consistently. Signage in conspicuous locations that alert people to potential hazards fosters good situational awareness.
Assign Supervisory Authority
A company’s leadership should charge senior staff members with responsibility for coordinating and monitoring the safety of working conditions. Also, every team member should know who to speak to about concerns involving workplace hazards.
Initiatives geared towards making a workplace safer benefits businesses in several key ways. Proactively preventing accidents and injuries effectively mitigates the potential for legal claims against a company. It also reduces claims utilization for insurance coverages and workers’ compensation policies, which can help to keep rates in check. Lastly, it supports a strong company culture by conveying the paramount importance of employees’ wellbeing.
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