Making choices isn't a straightforward affair. Some decisions hold more weight and thus have heftier consequences than others. Taking time can come off as either playing it safe or hesitating. The outcome of your actions, or lack thereof, may determine which of the two you were doing. It's advisable to make appropriate decisions while you still have time to minimise the cost of inaction.
Decision-making is crucial as it applies to many situations, especially those that deal with the safety of employees at the workplace. Inaction to employee safety can cost you dearly. Let's take a look.
What Does the Cost of Inaction in Safety Look Like?
It comprises injuries and illnesses sustained by employees, particularly the expensive kinds. While we may have the magic of the NHS, it still doesn't simplify the management of injuries. There are still costs associated with the treatment and recovery of employees, not to mention the lengthy lay-off from work.
Imagine the costs a company has to put up with when dealing with an injured employee. It's worse, if the said worker is experienced or whose expertise isn't easily replaceable. The effort takes to replace an employee of such a calibre can be overwhelming. It may turn out to be disappointing.
The new person may also not gel with your existing staff and take longer to adapt to your organisation's modus operandi. Safety in the workplace should be the paramount concern of any well-meaning employer. It motivates your employees and shows you care about their well-being. At the same time, it saves your company time, costs and other resources.
How To Be More Adaptable to Change as an Organisation and Proactively Invest in Safety
Many companies were giants at one point in history, and we all thought they were infallible; until one innovation or idea dismissal led to their downfall. Nokia, Blockbuster, Kodak and AOL failed to consider the changing operational environment; ending up as victims of the winds of change. As an organisation, it's upon you to know when it's time to change with the tide when it comes to the safety of your employees.
However, change doesn't always mean your company will flow with it; it has to be the decision of your leadership. Because the management is at the helm and responsible for steering the company in the right direction, they must ensure they adapt to the prevailing safety conventions. This may include taking Corrective and Preventative Actions (CAPA) as well as dealing with change management.
The impetus must start from the top if you need to revise your safety plans and procedures. It is the leadership's prerogative to ensure the changes you take, in consideration of your employee involvement and concerns, are actually in their best interests regarding their safety.
Expected ROI on Safety in the Workplace
The first thing you'll witness with improved safety at the workplace is productivity. When all your employees are in good form, you notice more productivity due to their availability at the workplace.
On the management end, you'll get to experience;
- Lower personnel injury costs
- Reduced liability exposure
- Minimised losses from interruption of operations
- Mitigation of public relations fallout
- Prevention of property damage
How To Involve Employees Better in Improving Safety and CAPA in it
Safety culture is how employees see their safety and value it in a given workplace. A positive safety culture is necessary for everyone involved in your company operations, especially those who ensure the work is done; your employees. Including them in promoting the safety culture allows them to give feedback on specific issues at the workplace.
Encourage employees to speak up whenever they see something that could be a hazard. Additionally, ask them to suggest ways to mitigate losses. When you involve them in forming safety practices, you let them take ownership of the process. In this way, you can expect thorough safety audits and workplace inspections.
Final thoughts
As a newly emerging practice, taking care of your staff has seen companies and other employers get more productivity out of their employees. In a situation where workers know they are replaceable, it is difficult to get them to perform to the best of their abilities. You can remedy that, by emphasising action in safety.
What this does is communicate to your team that you care about them, and their well-being; both in the present and the future. The net result is improved connectivity and morale at the workplace, which inaction in safety robs you of.
If you're looking for a platform to collect more data to monitor your organisation's safety practices, we've got you covered. Falcony is easy-to-use, boosts two-way communication, has customisable workflows, automated analytics, vast integration possibilities and more. Start your 30-day trial or contact us for more information:
We are building the world's first operational involvement platform. Our mission is to make the process of finding, sharing, fixing and learning from issues and observations as easy as thinking about them and as rewarding as being remembered for them.
By doing this, we are making work more meaningful for all parties involved.
More information at falcony.io.
