From time to time, accidents will happen in the workplace. Implementing an active safety program throughout your company can help prevent such unfortunate incidents, in turn, saving your business money on workers’ compensation claims and improving your bottom line. Although they are not difficult to put in place, effective safety programs require careful planning, comprehensive trainings, ongoing reviews, and managerial support. By developing a safety program backed by manager and employee support, a company can successfully cultivate an environment where employees feel equally responsible for their own safety as well as their co-workers. To get your company’s safety program started today, follow these recommended guidelines:

• Inspect and evaluate. Begin by evaluating possible risks in the workplace. Inspect the workplace in its entirety to create a list of known safety concerns and risks. Speak with employees to learn any additional concerns that may have been missed. Also, consider reading back through accident reports from previous years to determine which accidents are the most common.
• Identify and train. Identify methods for reducing each possible workplace risk so you can begin implementing risk-reduction strategies right away. Create a safety manual comprised of your identified workplace hazards, ways to minimize their risk, and what to do if an accident occurs. After the manual is complete, provide training for employees in each department about the hazards they may encounter, steps they can take to reduce risks, and how to report a risk to management.
• Set goals and incentives. Create goals that are specific, simple, measurable and realistic and then reward individual employees or departments for reaching these goals. This will encourage employees to actively participate in the workplace safety program. Goals can be as simple as remaining accident free for a chosen period of time or having perfect attendance for employee safety trainings. Offering team incentives, as well as rewarding employees on an individual level, will help promote workplace safety as well as encourage teamwork.

While accidents are bound to happen at some point, actively participating in a workplace safety program can greatly help minimize on-the-job injuries to promote a safer work environment while saving you on workers’ compensation claims. Staffers, Inc. has been Jackson, Mississippi’s leading administrative staffing firm for over a decade and is well versed in workplace safety. If you are looking for additional workplace safety program resources, contact the experts at Staffers, Inc. today!