Is your business as safe as it should be?
It’s easy to neglect workforce safety when you have more pressing concerns to focus on. However, an unsafe workplace can quickly lead to falls, trips, serious injuries, lawsuits, or financial loss and theft.
If your office isn’t as safe as it should be, read on to learn five important ways to protect your staff— and why they matter.
1. Install a Security System for Workforce Safety
Unwanted intruders are one of the biggest physical security risks for business. Install a comprehensive security system that can track all entries and exits from your building, with CCTV cameras. Your door and windows should securely lock after hours.
Look for security systems where staff and contractors are required to swipe a key or ID card to enter, ensuring no one is coming into the office without authorization.
Many systems can also track time logs of when staff entered and exited. This is useful data to know who is in the building at any given time.
2. Have an Emergency Exit Plan
Any business, large or small, needs a plan for exit in case of emergencies, such as fire or smoke. Nominate a fire warden to oversee the process and carry out occasional fire drills, unannounced.
All staff should know how to exit via the fire stairs, the evacuation meeting point outside, and any potential fire risks within the building.
Also, perform regular checks of your fire sprinkler, and change batteries as needed.
3. Offer Ergonomic Assessments
If your business is completed at a desk, you have a duty of care to ensure your staff have desk setups and chairs at the correct height, allowing for proper posture. Hire an assessor to work with each staff member to make sure they understand how to safely work at their desks.
Improper desk setups can cause back pain, neck and eyesight strain, and RSI (repetitive stress injury) in wrists.
You may consider installing a few standing desks as well, which can offer health benefits and encourage movement.
Read More: The Best Work Safety Tips: 5 Best Online Safety Training Courses
4. Create a Work Environment With No Hazards
One of the most common workplace injuries, trips and falls, are caused by simple accidents, such as improperly stored files, boxed underfoot, or loose carpet.
Make employee safety a number one priority by making sure the office is clean, tidy, and organized. All mailrooms, storage rooms, or closets should be properly maintained, and supervise workers doing heavy lifting, rearranging furniture, or working on ladders.
5. Have an IT Safety Plan
In addition to your physical safety risks, don’t neglect your online safety. Small businesses should outsource to an IT provider. They can look after the safety of your server, email network, databases, and software.
All staff will need to have updated, current antivirus software on their computers, along with training on staying safe online.
Data is valuable and hacks are surprisingly common, so it’s vital to protect your client information online.
Protect Your Employees Today
Staff members are one of a company’s most valuable assets, so look after your workforce safety by implementing some of the tips above. Employees will feel more secure coming to a safe workplace, which can help build loyalty to the company and improve staff morale.
Even the smallest companies should take safety seriously, as accidents can happen anytime.
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