Safety isn’t always the main concern of small business owners. Some owners regard serious work injuries as something that is very unlikely to happen to their employees, while others believe that there is a way to get the job done safely without spending a bunch of money that they don’t have on safety measures and equipment.
What usually happens to these small businesses is that they discover the hard way that it doesn’t take many employee injuries to put their company in real financial trouble. Compromising workplace safety in order to increase profits is a mistake that everyone should avoid by all means. Here are some tips to help you reduce the risk of work injuries in your business without compromising your budget.
Provide the Right Safety Gear
You can’t expect your staff to take reasonable precautions without providing them with the proper safety gear. The cost of safety glasses and gloves or steel-toes shoes is minimal when compared to the cost of trauma surgery. There is a strong human drive toward expediency and many workers will risk using the wrong safety gear or take a shortcut to get a job done. Don’t be one of them, and more importantly – don’t encourage that kind of “productivity”.
Demand Safe Work Practices
Make sure your employees are convinced in the fact that there is always time to do the things that need to be done in a safe manner, rather than rush the process and get hurt in the meantime. Then, start practicing this yourself. If you choose productivity over safety, you send the wrong message to your employees.
Train Your Staff
Even experienced and skilled workers should be given instructions regarding how the job should be done. If you know certain techniques that can make a certain task safer, make sure to share them with your staff and see if they meet the needs of the company. Using common sense to keep workers safe is a recipe for disaster.
Hire Smarter
When sales exceed production capacity, some business owners are tempted to make a quick hire. However, this is something you will want to avoid as there is a certain risk associated with hiring incompetent personnel. Besides being far less productive than you’d need them to be, these workers are far more likely to injure themselves in the workplace. So make sure you carefully screen candidates to ensure that they have the skills and experience necessary to work safely and be successful in what they do.
Seek Ways to Improve Safety
Just as you always try to find new work methods to get better results faster, that way you should seek ways to improve work safety. Consider spending some time with your employees brainstorming ways to boost productivity while not decreasing safety levels. Listen to their concerns and make sure to act on their suggestions.