Your safety policies and procedures keep your employees out of harm’s way. But beyond following the rules, it’s also a good idea for employees to be aware of situations that can put themselves or others in danger. The term safety awareness refers to employees making a habit of identifying unsafe conditions and considering what to do when they occur. And to keep your workplace danger-free, it’s always important to encourage safety awareness among your employees.
How to Improve Safety Awareness
You can take steps to raise safety awareness within your company with the following steps:
Explain why safety is important.
Yes, you have safety protocols in place. But it’s important to also talk to employees about why the rules are what they are. What could happen if safety protocols are broken? What dangers exist if key steps are skipped? By helping your workers understand the reasons behind protocols, you’ll help encourage them to follow the steps more accurately.
Change reminders regularly.
It’s one thing to hang posters around the workplace or send emails about safety steps. But why not get creative? Use a quiz, puzzle game or even scavenger hunt to help employees learn about important safety rules they should be aware of.
Walk employees through what “normal” should look like.
If your employees understand what the workplace should look like normally, it will help them learn to recognize when safety hazards are present. Walk them through the building. What will the entry way look like when it’s clean and free of slip hazards? What should walkways and workstations look like when they’re well-organized? Emphasize the rules that exist for keeping the workplace clean and hazard-free.
Talk about safety daily.
Supervisors can remind employees of safety standards on a daily basis, such as at the beginning of a shift. Supervisors should walk the production floor and alert employees to safety concerns throughout the workday, as well.
Keep an open-door policy.
When employees notice a safety concern, they should be able to alert a supervisor or boss immediately. Keep an open-door policy so employees feel comfortable coming to you with safety concerns, especially if they have to do with a coworker not following safety rules.
Get help with safety training and staffing up
Depending on the services offered by your staffing partner, you may have access to training for your employees. And if you’re in search of a staffing agency to add qualified new employees, check out HireCall. To learn more, contact us today!