Success in Safety | Tips to Help Employers Establish a Safe Workplace

By TERRA Staffing Group

Posted on December 16, 2022

HR and business leaders understand the importance of safety in the workplace. But maintaining a safe workplace and instituting a long-term, sustainable safety plan can be challenging.

The proof is in the numbers. There have been 3,250,000 workplace safety incidents so far this year—60% of which were cases that required days away from work, job restrictions or transfers. 

We’d like to help. 

We’ve put together some tried-and-true, simple-to-implement strategies to help your business get ahead of accidents. 

Tips for success in safety.

Establish a safety committee—with intention.

The first step toward maintaining a safe workplace is creating a safety committee. 

Be proactive and selective in this process. Resist the urge to ask for volunteers.

Instead, look for high-performing, safety-minded employees across all shifts, locations and departments to reinforce best practices.  That will set your committee up with a solid foundation.

TERRA’s Washington North Area Director, Morgan Mason spearheaded a safety committee in late March of this year and can attest to the success of this approach. 

We recruited individuals that gave thought and care to their environment, people that were performing well and seen as informal leaders. After launching this, incidents dropped by 55%.

By building a safety committee with intention, you’re taking action toward getting ahead of safety issues.

Meet frequently.

Consistency is important when establishing a new process, which is why it’s so critical to meet often. 

Schedule regular meetings to raise awareness around safety and maintain an open dialogue. Weekly is a good place to start, if possible. 

Give employees opportunities to speak up. 

Who knows? You might learn about safety issues that are an easy fix, or that you weren’t even aware of. And it will be much easier to stay on top of any safety concerns or potential hazards. 

Strengthen your committee’s communication skills.

Communication is so important especially when it comes to safety. However, without training, feedback from safety representatives could come across as criticism to their teammates. 

Remember, these employees may not have any coaching experience and will need education around communication and leadership. Teach them how to deliver constructive feedback so that they generate a response from their teammates rather than a reaction.

This is a win-win situation. You’re motivating employees to be more safety-minded and developing future leaders.

Following this process will help employers build a culture of safety in the workplace that’s long-lasting and rooted in teamwork. 

To learn more about creating a safer workplace, check out this informative video, Success in Safety, featuring Morgan Mason, Washington North Area Director, and Jenifer Lambert, TERRA’s Chief Strategy Officer.

And if you’re looking for staffing solutions to fit your organization, we’re here to help. Contact TERRA Staffing Group today to get started. 

Categories: Workplace Safety & Accident Prevention

Tags: Safety in the workplace, Success in Safety, Workplace Safety Tips

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