Imagine the most important parts of your workplace. Whether you are an employer or an employee, safety is probably one of the things that you thought about first. Without a safe workplace, both mentally and physically, it’s impossible for your business to succeed. Employees need to feel that they are working in a safe environment and are safe from work-space hazards, in order to work at their optimum levels. If your workers are constantly worried that their health and wellness is in danger, they are not going to be as productive as they could be.
However, the good news is all of this is that there are plenty of ways that you as an employer can ensure safety in the workplace. There are simple and commonsense steps to take that we’re going to go through down below. Make sure to check these out and ensure that they are being implemented and followed in your workplace. The safety of your employees should be your number one priority if you want to have success in your business.
Assess What Risks You Have at Your Workplace
This first item is something that’s going to be completely dependent on the type of business you’re running and what industry you find yourself in. For example, some industries are going to come with more physical risks to health and wellness than other, more service-based industries. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
If you are working mostly in manufacturing spaces with lots of machinery around and plenty of heavy lifting, then this is a place where the risks are going to be more physical. Employees can be harmed by these large pieces of machinery or by dropping items on their feet, for example. On the other hand, other businesses might be mostly based in their offices, behind computers. This workplace safety is going to be centered around the mental safety of your employees. If the workers don’t feel comfortable with other employees or if there are rumors going around that are detrimental to one or a couple of employees, then that’s something to work on.
Create Solid Safety Rules and Procedures That Work to Reduce These Risks
When you’ve identified the top risks for your specific workplace, then it’s time to come together with your management team to develop specific safety rules and procedures that address these risks and mitigate them. These rules are going to need to be taught to each and every one of their employees before they can begin work. Or it could be that to operate specific machinery, employees need to go through certain training and obtain certifications before operating the machinery.
And there’s no need for these to be too complex! You can easily make these super simple and easy to understand for your employees. That’s probably a better idea anyways, as you want to ensure that your employees are aware of the policies and can remember them easily. Ensure that these policies are easily available, as well, whenever your workers need a refresher.
Always Conduct Background Checks on Potential Employees
The safety of your employees doesn’t stop at the physical threats to their health and wellness. Threats could also come from other employees who haven’t had a proper background check. You never want a potential criminal slipping through your hiring process and threatening the lives of your other employees. That’s why it’s a good idea to ensure that every single candidate goes through an intensive background check. That way, you are going to be totally sure that the people you are bringing on as employees have no past problems that could rear their ugly heads.
Inspect the Physical Work-space
Now that you know what the risks are in your physical work-space, you should take the time to inspect every inch of your warehouse, office space, etc. Make sure that there are no loose hanging lights that could fall and hurt your employees. Make sure that the safety equipment is in order and that there are no repairs that need to be made. If you see any big problems that need to be solved, make sure to get that fixed and let your employees know so they are aware of the potential risk.
Always Have a Plan of Action in Case an Emergency Happens
Another big point on the safety front is that you need to ensure that there is a solid plan of action in the case of emergency. You never know what could happen in the workplace, whether that be a natural disaster or something that’s caused by human error or malice. That’s why it’s crucial that you and your employees know what to do and where to go in the case of every potential emergency. Have a meeting with your management team to determine what kinds of emergencies could be possible and how to deal with each of them. Then, make sure that these plans are readily available to each and every employee.
Make Sure to Have a Procedure for Any Visitors Who Come by The Workplace
There are going to be times when visitors come into your workplace. Whether that be to just take a look around the facility or if they are scoring your workplace safety, you should ensure that there is a strict policy for visitors on the premises of your business. This could be anything from requiring them to wear a guest pass at all times to going through security before coming into the facility. No matter what you do, make sure that your employees are aware when there are visitors on the grounds, so they can be extra careful in their daily work.
Make Sure the Work-space Feels Safe and There Is Plenty of Open Communication Going Around
Of course, the last item on this list has to be about the open communication needed in your work-space. You might not know how this applies to safety, but when your employees feel as if their opinions are being heard and they can speak up, it’s more likely that violence and discrimination will be outed and can be rooted out. It’s important that your employees feel safe on both a mental and a physical level at work.
And there you have it! Make sure that you’re keeping each of these tips in mind when you are ensuring that your workplace is safe.
