When you own a business, your employees become your responsibility as soon as they walk through your doors. Your people are an invaluable part of your business, and it’s your duty to do what you can to ensure their safety. Caring about your employees’ well-being translates to the basic foundation of a good business owner, but it will also help increase productivity and decrease costs in areas such as workers’ compensation. Check out this helpful guide on how to create a safety plan for your business.
Identify your business’s risks
Perform a walkthrough of your business, notating all the hazards you notice. Also, ask your employees about the dangers they can easily identify. Every business—whether it’s a coffee shop or marketing firm—has similar as well as different dangers. Once you’ve identified your risk factors, you can come up with procedures to minimize risks and better ensure employee safety.
Develop a safety program for hazards
All businesses need a plan for regular and common disasters that happen in workplaces. Here is a quick rundown on the main “just-in-case” issues all businesses must prepare for.
Fire
It’s important to prepare your employees for a fire and plan safe escape routes. Fire safety in public buildings extends far beyond escape routes, though. You must teach employees how to avoid accidentally setting fires, how to evacuate the public, and how to escape safely themselves.
Active shooter
Unfortunately, this situation is becoming more and more frequent. As such, it’s best to stay vigilant and know what to do should you have an active shooter in your building. Identify safe hiding places, escape routes, emergency buttons, clear phone lines, and more. Informed employees are safe employees. Come up with a procedure, so everyone can stay as safe as possible in the event of such a dangerous situation.
Tornado
Tornados aren’t extremely common in many areas, but if they do hit, you’ll want to know what to do. Identify designated storm areas on the ground floor (or lower) and away from windows, and inform your employees about said locations. Remind them to shield themselves from flying debris.
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