by McKenzie Stalkenburg
Keep your employees well and your business benefits. Image via Pexels.
When you're running a business, the demands on your time are endless. From trying to win over new client accounts to laying financial plans in place, a business owner has to wear many hats and concentrate on multiple subjects. It doesn't seem like there are enough hours in the day to cover everything. And sometimes the easiest things to neglect are actually the most crucial - if and when they go wrong. It can mean that important basics such as health and safety become neglected or seem less pressing, and that is an issue - not only from the point of view of protecting your employees, but good safety practices also make sense for your bottom line, too.
The Right Environment
You want to set your business up with an environment which will foster performance and success - and that means creating a culture where employees feel valued. This takes many forms, but showing that their well being and safety are important to you is one of the foundations of making happy workers. And happy workers are more productive. Making sure those who are a part of your organization are thriving is a positive move in so many ways. Morale is incredibly hard to win back once lost and can be a huge drain on your business, especially start ups where each person is so closely involved with the rest.
The Cost Of Not Caring
If you do choose to overlook safety concerns, you're not only in breach of your duties as an employer, and on the wrong side of the law, but you are also risking everything you have worked for and built up. Injury lawsuits from workers who have had a preventable accident can spell ruin for smaller businesses, as can having half your workforce off with stress or illnesses caused by their working environment. Not only will you be less able to do business but you are open to claims if you haven't been taking care.
Taking Responsibility
Although it needs to be led from the very top, ensuring employee safety is a collective responsibility from everyone who works at your company. Every staff member will be making multiple decisions that impact on the wellness of themselves and those around them, so a culture shift needs to occur and that starts with a clearly defined training program. This should take place during the induction of new members of staff and also as refreshers for others. From ensuring customer safety at an event to adding GHS Labels to make people aware of a hazard, the practice of health and safety provisions can't be implemented haphazardly - there must be a uniform approach across the business.
Everyone's A Winner
The benefits to your running costs of not having to back fill positions with temporary staff and see your recruitment costs soar if you lose people through illness or injury are all profit saved, but it's also important to communicate the personal benefits of this approach - a standard of well being and easier, safer work.