As a business owner, you should know that the safety of your employees is vital to the success of your company. Instead of looking at employee safety as an expense, you should instead think of it as a long-term investment in the health of your business. Since businesses are run by human beings and not robots, you should always prepare for the worst. It is strongly suggested to have proactive and reactive procedures in the workplace. Additionally, it is your responsibility to confirm that your employees understand these respective policies. When conventions are established and understood, it makes for a more enjoyable work environment.
In this article, I have emphasized three manners to keep workers safe.
Outsourcing help when needed
Outsourcing reduces cost without compromising on employee safety. For example, if you are a restaurant owner you do not want your staff burning themselves. The mismanagement of grease can also cause fires. A study completed by the Insurance Journal concluded that fires were one of the top insurance claims at 10% and $35,000. Therefore, it is highly recommended to search for an organization in your area that is credible when it comes to grease handling. However, outsourcing grease management does not mean that you do not need fire insurance. If you are unsure about why or what in regards to fire insurance, then read this guide. The fire insurance resource covers topics that include making sure assets are properly insured to making sure that you do not underinsure your property. Although purchasing fire insurance may seem like a costly investment at first glance, you are protecting both your business and employees from future issues.
Regular Emergency Drills
Another method to keep your workers safe in the workplace is adopting and regularly practicing emergency drills. Most recently, there has been an uprise in workplace violence, specifically active shooters. Statistics reported by the FBI indicated that over 80% of active shooter incidents occur in a workplace environment. Additionally, the FBI study further concluded that nearly 50% of shootings occur at a business. As a business owner, you may experience various emotions from employees while performing this drill. A few measure to take during the drill are to secure all doors entering the building and to contact the local police as soon as possible. By adopting and practicing regularly emergency drills, you are directly and indirectly demonstrating to your employees that you care about their respective well-being.
Regularly Communicate with your Employees
If you want to keep your employees safe in the workplace, then you need to regularly communicate with them. A study by Dynamic Signal stipulates that communication with employees enhanced workplace productivity by 202%. Furthermore, the study suggested that 92% of employees that were surveyed said that empathy was a key factor in workplace retention. From a business owners’s perspective this means that if you keep your employees safe, then you receive higher engagement and productivity from them. The open-communication environment demonstrates that business goals and employee concerns do not have to be contrasted from one another.
Being a business owner is not an easy job. However, that does not mean that you should sacrifice employee well-being because you are inadequately prepared to deal with unforeseen circumstances. By adopting measures early, your employees will thank you and will help you achieve your company objectives.