Creating a culture of safety in your small business is important for the well-being of your employees and the success of your business. It’s important to remember that when you are a smaller business, a safety risk may have a more significant impact on your reputation, so it’s more important to ensure health and safety is a top priority for managers and employees.
Here are some steps you can take to promote safety in your workplace
Develop a safety policy
Clearly outline the safety expectations for your employees and make sure they understand the consequences of not following safety procedures. For example, when a new employee joins a small business, there can be a policy that they have a run-through of the health and safety policies. For example, knowing where the fire exits are in the building, and knowing who the first aiders are on site. Having strict policies will help small businesses know what to do in an emergency.
Conduct safety training
Provide regular safety training for your employees to ensure that they are aware of the potential hazards in your workplace and how to prevent accidents. For example, conducting regular health and safety sessions for the whole team will help ensure everybody is on the same page if an accident occurs. From here, the risk of serious injury will be mitigated. Employees could even be asked for ideas to improve health and safety training, which will also further benefit the safety culture.
Identify and assess hazards
New hazards come up all the time in busy workplaces. Another important step to create a culture of safety in your small business is to regularly assess your workplace for potential hazards and take steps to eliminate or mitigate them. This can be achieved through regular hazard checks across the company site, with all employees notified of any new hazards.
Provide personal protective equipment
If necessary, provide your employees with the personal protective equipment they need to stay safe on the job. If your small business does not currently have the correct equipment, then invest in safety equipment. This can include first aid kits, fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors, to help prevent accidents and injuries in your workplace.
Promote a culture of safety
Make safety a priority in your workplace by setting a good example and promoting a culture of safety throughout your business. No matter what the small company’s current situation is, if the culture is in the right place then the majority of employees will be happy.
Overall, this article hopes to lay down the foundations that will help create a culture of safety for your small business.
