Less risk means more reward.
Employee health and safety is more important than ever in a post-pandemic landscape, and since the NSC established June as National Safety Month in 1966, it has been a perfect time for companies to reassess initiatives and make smart goals to support a safe workspace for all employees. The average cost of a work-related injury in 2020 was $39,000, and the average OSHA penalty for non-compliance was $13,260, which would already be a compelling reason to provide workforce training around safer practices.
However, safety is more than just good numbers.
Building a safe work environment builds trust between leadership and a workforce, and creating a healthy working space has benefits that go way beyond physical and technological protection.
- Employee retention. When leaders show their employees that they care about their safety, health, and well being there is no denying the side-effects are positive ones. Businesses who focus on safety and wellness reduce absenteeism and illness, limit turnover, and boost employee morale – all of which benefit the entire team.
- Culture of safety. Posting regulations may seem like enough, but building a program of continual learning objectives to motivate employees to stay up to date on new guidelines empowers them to be involved in the process. By integrating safety into company culture, team members do more by pointing out hazards, updating their teammates, and are more likely to follow best-practices when they know the organization is on the same page.
- Consumer trust. More than ever, clients and customers are holding leaders accountable for practices by selecting to do business with organizations that reflect positive values. By focusing on safety with accurate incident reporting procedures, businesses inspire investor confidence and show other organizations that they are trustworthy and employ safe practices and standards on all levels.
- Increase productivity. With the “gig economy” growing across all industries, employers that provide thorough safety on-boarding with new employees create efficiency by supporting employee awareness from the beginning. By providing safety workforce training, businesses have been proven to increase productivity, raise the quality of work, and lower costs. All by ensuring hazards are avoided before they happen.
It is undeniable that safety can be good for business in more ways than one. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for an organization to bolster its workplace safety and wellness efforts. Even a few small changes such as implementing a learning calendar or providing engaging on-demand content that clarifies safety procedures and best practices can make a big difference in employee retention, building a strong safety culture, keeping consumer trust, and increasing productivity. Creating safety and wellness learning objectives and programs that inspire trust create a work environment that both teams and clients can be proud of.
During Safety Month, we are providing access to our course of the month calendar on safety and compliance and if you are looking to expand your own training programs or explore resources, you can check out our library of on-demand safety courses that includes everything from OSHA courses, technology safety, PPE & manufacturing training programs, employee wellness, and compliance courses like ADA training.