Ensuring the health and safety of your employees is on one of your obligations as a business owner. It is not only recommended from a moral position; it is also required by law.

Studies have shown that when you take the health and safety of your employees seriously, it motivates them and encourages them to be more willing to work for you. Employees tend to be more comfortable and productive when they feel safe. Health and safety affects the outcome and quality of work done by the staff and leads to an increase in profit margins and output.

5 Reasons Why Health and Safety Training Should be Managed

Your safety program (or lack of it) has a definite, ongoing impact on your business. Here’s how it can work for you.

1. It helps to boost the safety and involvement of employees

In workplaces where the employees feel valued and their contribution towards safety is taken into consideration, the chances of accidents are greatly reduced. When employees are taken to training programs on how to stay safe and keep the workplace safe, they feel responsible for their own safety and that of their colleagues at the workplace. They also contribute by pointing out areas in the office that are safety risks. Their job experience ensures the practicality of health and safety protocols. Their involvement in health and safety programs fortifies their commitment levels during work hours.

2. It ensures the loyalty of the employees

When the environment at the workplace is conducive to safety, the rate of absenteeism decreases. Absenteeism can be the result of injuries sustained from accidents, illnesses, and even lack of motivation of the employees. When absenteeism declines, you don’t have to incur unnecessary overtime costs or hire extra workers to take up the positions left empty. Happy employees don’t look for new jobs and reduced employee turnover saves on labor costs.

3. It will earn you a better reputation

When employees get sick or injured at the office or shop, the word can spread fast, especially if it’s a trend that continues for a long time. Ultimately, a company with such a record, whether it’s intentional or not, may get a very bad reputation in the community for being irresponsible and uncaring for the health and safety of its employees. This can limit the availability of potential employees and can even hurt sales growth.

Conversely, good safety and health conditions at your workplace also spread to the community through your staff. A good reputation endears the company to the community and positively affects sales, especially if you’re a retail outlet whose customers come from the area.

4. It saves on insurance and legal costs

When workplace accidents occur, the burden of paying for medical bills, legal fees, compensational payouts, and other remedial actions can fall heavily on the company. In addition to that, the company will likely have to cover all the sick days resulting from an accident.

When your business is equipped with good health and safety processes and systems, accidents and affiliated expenses are reduced.

5. It can lead to increased levels of productivity

When employees are injured at the workplace, they tend to keep this from their supervisors, especially if the injury isn’t very bad or there’s a poor safety culture. Instead of letting someone know, they continue with their work silently.

Of course, even minor untreated injuries affect one’s ability to perform. (Think of how a paper cut feels!) When employees are free to express their concerns because good safety systems are in place, all of this can be avoided.

Conclusion

Safety is a vital component in your business operations management. It affects employee participation in daily operations and influences their productivity and loyalty. Good safety systems improve your business reputation in the community and reduce insurance and legal costs.

Holly Shaw is a freelance HR consultant and writer. After working for several high profile businesses in the city, Holly is now supporting businesses through difficult times as an independent consultant. Holly currently writes for Effective Software with a focus on improving health and safety as a catalyst for internal change.