When it comes to companies, conglomerates, and large organizations, protecting their workers from bodily harm and injury should be top priority. Yet many workers employed by billion-dollar companies do not feel like their workplace is providing them with the necessary equipment that will protect them from workplace injury. Many workers feel like their bosses could create better policies and buy better protective equipment.
Profit, risk management, and cutting back on expenses always matter to a business, no matter the size or industry. But you would be surprised at how many companies forgo basic safety requirements and procedures, which then causes a large amount of revenue loss from injured workers as well as liability lawsuits.
To protect the daily operations of a business and the workers, a company or organization has to create effective safety procedures and provide the right safety gear and training. Doing so will keep daily operations running smoothly and prevent workplace injuries. It is the job of supervisors, safety managers, and administrative staff to make sure every worker on site is trained properly. That means workers need to receive the correct PPE, safety gear and proper training on how to use their work tools.
So proper safety training is critical to protect workers, but many companies do not see it that way. Many see safety as a factor rather than a priority.
As a safety manager or supervisor, how can you establish how well your workplace values safety?
Four ways to make your company more safety-conscious
In every job site or workplace, there is a safety culture all employees follow. But this culture must be implemented by supervisors and administrative staff. If they do not show they care about safety and safety culture, workers will not have much regard for safety either.
But what is a company’s safety culture and how can an organization create a workplace environment that values safety above all else? It all starts with the initial attitude toward safety and safety procedures. Safety culture is the values, policies, procedures, and attitudes developed by a workplace or a company that stresses and emphasizes safety.
Develop and encourage a strong culture of safety at both management and employee levels
Attitudes, policies, and procedures how to come from the top levels of management and work their way down to the newest employee. If mid-level supervisors and managers know that their bosses don't care about safety, they will not encourage their staff to practice proper safety procedures.
There is a very effective method used to train employees, so they understand the gravity of not using their proper safety equipment. This method is to tell each employee to imagine what life would be like if they received a workplace injury that they could not recover from. If an employee works with drills, instruct them to imagine what it would be like to lose one of their fingers or ruin some of the nerves in the palm.
For an employee that works with chemicals, have them imagine what it would be like if they can no longer see because a chemical splashed into their eyes and their eyes were not properly protected.
You can also have your staff picture themselves receiving a massive chemical burn wound that takes years to heal. Having your employees run these terrible scenarios in their minds will help cement the consequences of not following safety procedures.
Encourage employees and managers to document and report safety issues and hazards
Four eyes are better than two, and 20 to 100 employees keeping their eyes out for dangerous hazards are better than monthly safety inspections. But many employees feel like their voice doesn’t matter, so they don’t say anything. They also feel like if they discover a work hazard, they will be blamed for any delays that may happen as a result of getting the hazard fixed. But what if you rewarded your staff every time, they found a hazard. That will make finding hazards more interesting for them.
The easiest and best way to encourage your employees and managers to create a more safety-conscious environment and workspace is to reward them for doing so. And who doesn't love receiving more money or privileges for helping their fellow employees?
Create a reward system that rewards staff members with good prizes will have your employees scrambling to find any type of work hazard they can. There are a few ways you can encourage employees on all of them to find and report safety issues:
- Give them a monetary prize when they report something particularly dangerous
- Provide them a paid lunch for the whole week
- Make them the employee of the week or the month so they can receive special privileges, like their choice of parking spot, paid lunch, a new work phone, a few extra days of vacation, etc
Not only will employees keep their eye out for hazards that they have never noticed before or ignored, but they will also be less likely to hurt themselves once these new hazards are dealt with.
Find ways to encourage your employees to practice proper safety measures
When there are no more hazards to be found and everyone is practicing good safety procedures, you don’t want workers to slack off and forget about their training. Now, supervisors can punish anyone who stops following proper safety training, but this will only lead to a drop in morale and worker satisfaction. Instead, management can create a system that centers around group rewards and scheduled goals.
For example, if there are no workplace safety incidents for a month, everyone gets to go home early or have a three-day weekend. There can also be a small pizza party or free coffee and pastries for a couple of days. Thinking of new and interesting ways to keep your employees on track can be great for everyone involved.
Also, have small safety briefs at least once a week to remind staff on how to practice safety and address any small slips or accidents that could have been avoided.
Plan structured safety meetings
No matter where a person is in the hierarchy of an organization, everyone must be involved in creating safety procedures and practices. Every employee has to attend safety meetings and allow their voice to be heard.
Employees that work in the only physical side of a company must be able to let their managers and supervisors know if they need better work procedures. By doing this, employees in the most dangerous and accident-prone environments will learn that they can actually rely on their supervisors to protect them and provide them the safety gear and training they need.
Also, management at the top levels will be able to address any issues or concerns their employees will have and develop a better understanding of what their job exactly entails and how dangerous it could be if they are given the wrong equipment and training.
Safety as a factor and safety as a value
The way in which a company or organization demonstrates how important the health and safety of their workers will show their current employees, and potential employees, if they are valued within the company or not.
Simple small details, as well as significant ones, can demonstrate to workers if management truly cares about their safety or if the company sees everyone as a liability that must be managed.
If proper training, well thought out and tested safety procedures, and rigorous emergency drills are a daily or weekly occurrence, workers will learn that their safety is not just a priority, but a foundational value to the company. If safety truly is a value to the company, we're just going to have to look up their companies about page to learn about the value of safety. Proper safety training and procedures will be implemented at every level.
Workers will not see such a dedication to safety in a company that only sees safety as a priority. It is common for companies to constantly switch out and change priorities when it suits them. If your employer is trying to improve the net profits of their business, and safety is only a priority, proper safety training and PPE may do longer be provided. Workers will see no such switch when they are employed by an organization that has safety as one of its values.
Many people in the workforce have a saying and it goes like this, "People don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers."
We've all had that terrible manager who just made our job so much worse than it actually was. When employees realize that they actually have supervisors and managers that care about their safety and well-being, they're more likely to stay at that job, are more loyal, and will go the extra mile.
Plus, the reputation of an organization that truly values the safety of its workers will make waves in the industry. The company will even stand out among the hundreds of companies that don't care about their employees at all. Workers that are more knowledgeable and have more skills will want to work for a company that cares about its workers. So, the benefits to caring about worker safety will far outlast any small-time boost in profits.
