Running a business is no easy task; it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. Not only do you have to make sure the company is productive, but that your staff is as well.
Building relationships with your employees is essential to the business model. It makes them feel valued and keeps them involved in your goals.
However, there’s also a priority that should be placed on keeping your office safe for your in-house workers. Any accident is a risk to not only their safety but your company’s as well.
Here are several ways to make sure your office is safe for yourself and everyone else in it.
1. Frequent Inspections
No matter what industry your company is in, there are certain safety codes in place for your office/building.
Many workplace accidents can be attributed to a lack of compliance with these safety codes, therefore putting the employees at risk.
Having frequent inspections can help ensure that your office won’t be a victim of such negligence. Send in the proper security service to investigate your place of business to make sure it’s up to par with the safety codes.
Doing so will give yourself and your employees peace-of-mind, as well as prevent many accidents from ever happening.
2. Proper Training
As the great Francis Bacon once said: “knowledge is power”. It can protect you and your workers from any accidents stemming from a lack of awareness.
Office safety training is essential to making sure you’re well-informed on the factors that lead to optimizing safety for your office.
Anything from office layout, storage, or even noise levels can play a part in having an accident take place. That accident could lead to a disabling injury for your staff members.
As the one in charge, it’s up to you to not only educate yourself but your staff as well, on the risks and best practices for your office.
3. Declutter the Office
Anything on the floor or out of its ordinary position can lead to a tripping hazard for those that walk near it.
A box on the floor presents as much of a high-risk for tripping your workers as a cord or rug that isn’t laid down completely flat.
To avoid this, install a “see something, do something” policy with your office. That way, anytime someone sees a risk, they eliminate it right away.
4. Hire Patrol Personnel
Unfortunately, you live in a time where office shootings are always a possibility for offices that don’t have proper security.
The first step to preventing that in your workplace is to hire security personnel to patrol your office and ensure the safety of your staff. They’ll be in charge of installing the best practices to keep everyone as safe as possible.
Adjust their hours to oversee those leaving the office at later, darker hours of the night for more protection for your employees against harm befalling them.
5. Have Plenty of Ladders/Stools
Depending on the type of business that your office conducts, this one may or may not make much sense. However, the need for reaching things on a top shelf happens more often than you realize.
If an employee needs something on the top shelf, and there’s no ladder or step stool in-sight, they will still attempt to reach it.
That tends to take place in the form of grabbing the nearest chair or climbing atop a counter. Neither of which are made to support a standing human body.
To avoid this scenario, supply your office with a ladder or some sort of stool in every room with a high shelf.
6. Constant Communication
One of the best ways to ensure your staff is well-informed is by prioritizing communication within the entire workforce. Everyone from executives to hourly workers needs to be on the same page.
Let your employees know that you’re always an open ear.
Whether it’s mental health, unhappiness with their position, reporting immoral behavior, etc. Let them know they can always come to you.
7. Encourage Healthy Lifestyles
As silly as it may sound, sometimes the thing you have to protect your employees from most is themselves. For example, their lifestyle habits.
Take a look at your staff… are they prioritizing staying healthy or have they been so wrapped up in other things that their diet takes the backseat?
Install things such as a company-wide health program or pay for their gym memberships to show them how much you care.
8. Proper Surfacing
If your workplace often has slippery substances on it, then you’re definitely prone to an accident if proper safety measures aren’t in order.
Make sure to invest in non-skid surfaces such as a rubber mat to prevent slipping.
Also, make sure your employees are wearing non-skid shoes to protect them even further from a harmful fall.
9. Update Equipment Regularly
Waiting for equipment to wear out before replacing it isn’t a best practice for your office safety. While it may help your finances in the short term, it can also lead to a hefty lawsuit for your company down the line.
Any machinery or equipment your employees use often should be replaced frequently.
That way you can be sure the equipment they have access to is state-of-the-art and the safest that money can buy.
10. Prioritize a Clean Office
Last but not least, you should always encourage your entire office to keep the workplace as clean as possible.
This can help prevent things from being in places they shouldn’t be, such as boxes on the floor that can be a tripping hazard.
To encourage this, install spring and fall cleaning sessions and harp on cleanliness at weekly meetings… it’ll get the point across quickly.
Keep Your Office Safe for Everyone on Your Staff
Now that you know the best ways to keep your office safe, it’s time you put these methods to practice!
Installing these safety measures will keep any harm from happening due to an accident such as a slip or a trip.
Be sure to check out our other articles with helpful information on topics like this one and many others.