Employees tend to do a better job when they feel secure in their working environment. Therefore, it is up to you as a business owner to make sure that your people feel safe and secure. This means keeping them free from safety hazards or from harassment from other workers. Here are some steps that you can take to accomplish this goal.
Create a Safe Workplace Training Course
Workers may be vulnerable to injury no matter what their jobs may entail. Simply sitting at a computer for several hours could lead to eye, hand or wrist issues. Those who have to file paperwork or sort mail can also be at risk. Employees could get hurt just by reaching up or bending over on a constant basis each day. Training programs can be a great benefit to employee health and safety. These programs should always be tailored to the needs and experience level of your workers.
Create a Written Workplace Harassment Policy
There should be a written workplace harassment policy that every employee has access to. This policy should be clear and concise. Any sort of harassment whether it be verbal, physical or sexual in nature should not be tolerated. The policy should also describe who to talk to if harassment takes place. You should have clear steps in place to remedy the issue. It can be useful to consult with an attorney to make sure that the policy you have crafted is completely sufficient.
Give Consistent Praise to Your People
Recognition is a great way to help boost employee morale. Having a program such as employee of the month can keep people motivated to work hard. Simple changes to how you address employees can help as well. Instead of complaining that a sales goal wasn’t met, recognize a team for doing their best despite being short-staffed. When you want a change to be made, don’t tell your employees what they’re doing wrong. Instead tell them what they’re doing right, and then give a suggestion for something they could do even better. As a general rule, positive reinforcement is more likely to inspire people to work hard as opposed to be constantly ridiculed.
Have Escorts Available Whenever Necessary
If your people work late in the day or early in the morning, it isn’t a bad idea to offer employees escorts to their cars. This helps them feel safe as they enter or exit a building into what may be a dark or empty parking lot. Even if the area is generally considered safe, there is nothing wrong with giving your people extra peace of mind. If you feel that escorts are excessive, even posting a security guard at the building’s entrance can go a long way towards providing a feeling of security to your employees.
Worker safety should be a top priority for any company. Keeping people safe means that they are more productive, and it also means that the business is not spending money on workers compensation costs that could otherwise go toward building a profitable organization. Ultimately, worker safety allows both employees and business owners to win in the long run.