No matter your industry, your business can benefit greatly from creating a safety-first culture. Employees who are trained to keep safety top of mind are less likely to be injured on the job and often develop a greater sense of workplace pride. Here are five practical ways to transform your business into a safety-first culture.
Encourage Prompt Reporting
Do your employees feel comfortable reporting accidents that have happened in the workplace? Encourage them to accurately report workplace accidents. Don’t make them feel like these issues should be swept under the rug. Promptly investigate workplace accidents that are reported, to avoid similar accidents from re-occurring.
A prompt response minimizes the chance of future legal action against the company while reducing time-off spent for recovery. One of the best ways to encourage prompt accident reporting is to provide training on the injury filing process, including who employees should contact regarding accidents.
Maintain a Small Business Atmosphere
According to an Expert Interview with Dr. Timothy Ludwig on Cultivating a Safety Culture, one of the best ways to keep your employees safe at work is to maintain a small business atmosphere. Employees in small businesses are more likely to look out for each other, often feel more connected to management and typically have a better idea of the overall business environment, including how the safety precautions of one employee affect others.
Of course, maintaining a small company atmosphere through times of business growth can be easier said than done. Achieve this goal by keeping the company’s values in the forefront, by maintaining open lines of communication and by encouraging interdepartmental cooperation and teamwork.
Create a Reward System
Encourage employees to stay safe at work by paying them for staying accident-free. For example, many business owners offer workplace bonuses or host fun gatherings after their workplaces have remained accident-free for a specified period. When employees are encouraged and rewarded for safe workplace habits, they are more likely to keep safety top of mind each day.
Track your Training
Do you offer a regular schedule of workplace safety training and are you providing the right types of training? Creating a safety-first culture relies heavily on properly training your workers about workplace safety. For example, training should be held regarding the proper operation of equipment and more. Also, work with human resources to implement a tracking system that will help to verify that each employee has received all required training.
Evaluate Accident Details
Accidents are likely to keep happening unless you take the necessary steps to remedy their causes. After an accident occurs in the workplace, investigate the cause and determine how you can prevent a similar future incident. If the mishap was caused by faulty equipment, promptly repair or replace the machine. If the incident was caused by user error, determine if any additional training is required.
Creating a safety-first culture keeps your employees safe, minimizes workplace accidents and, in the long run, saves your business money. Instill a safety-first culture into your workplace by tracking safety training, evaluate the details of past accidents and more.