The first thing that many startups focus on is strengthening their core functions. They establish and refine their product or service, learn about sales and marketing their new venture, and set up accounting and payroll functions.
One area that is often missed in these early stages is workplace health and safety.
Many small businesses struggle when it comes to workplace health and safety (WHS, or OHS in Victoria and OSH in WA). Not only are the WHS legislative requirements for small businesses difficult to understand, but they are also perceived as expensive and time consuming to establish policies and procedures.
A smart business will make health and safety a regular part of business operations from the beginning, rather than a rushed add-on at a later point when a serious workplace incident occurs. Work health and safety is best addressed as a central part of all business operations, big or small. This is the surest way to keep your workers safe.
Keep reading to learn about our 5 simple tips to help boost your health and safety practices without the big price tag or time investment.
1. Put safety on the agenda
First and foremost, giving WHS a regular spot on the agenda for team meetings is an easy way to start actioning your legislative requirements.
This simple step allows you to open up conversations about safety with your team, which is exactly what is needed for great safety management. Your employees are able to regularly assist you in identifying the areas in your business where health and safety policies need to be addressed.
Additionally, by implementing regular open and transparent conversations about health and safety with your employees, you will ensure safety is always top of mind.
2. Work on your highest priorities first
Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, start prioritising them and set goals to address them. Just remember to keep things simple.
Begin by addressing your biggest safety concerns. These are the ones that you identify as being able to cause the most harm to your employees, your operations, and your business’s reputation.
Only once you have begun to adequately address these higher priority concerns should you turn your attention to other safety aspects within your organisation.
First, consider the SMART goal concept. Your safety goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-specific. Then, delegate key tasks within your plan to your employees, including tasks that can be carried out by individuals, as well as by teams within your workplace.
By empowering your staff to carry out your health and safety improvement plan, they will begin to see health and safety as just a normal part of their working day.
Don’t forget that your plan can and should change as your business changes.
It’s important to remember that a health and safety plan doesn’t need to be perfect! The first step is to start. You can always work on it and add to it over time, and it will continue to improve.
3. Establish basic processes
You don’t have to have fancy policy documents and process charts scattered around the office to implement health and safety processes. You just need to know the basics of what needs to be managed and then share it with your employees.
For example, incident and hazard reporting is pretty standard across all industries. It is important to make sure people know how to report correctly. Safety management software can help. There are plenty of free online tools,such as Safety Champion Light, that can make it easier for your team to report incidents or hazards. Many of these tools also give you key oversight over health and safety reporting across your business.
The key is to make sure that everyone knows what they need to do if they see something unsafe. Who are they required to talk to, and how can they report it?
It’s also important for employees to see that health and safety procedures aren’t a burden. Celebrate progress at team meetings so your staff can see the benefit of their contributions towards your health and safety plan.
If people can see how the role they play fits into the bigger organisational picture and can see it working, they are more likely to keep at it.
4. Engage your workers in safety
In addition to having health and safety as a standing agenda item at team meetings, there are other ways to keep your employees engaged in health and safety matters.
You can share helpful health and safety tips through your internal communications. You could also hold a training session on a specific safety topic of priority within your business.
You can get plenty of resources from Safe Work Australia https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/ or your local regulator (for example, WorkSafe Victoria https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/ or similar).
Remember your team will be more engaged if you share information or hold sessions on safety topics that are important to them.
5. Lead by example
Finally, management must lead by example. Workers are far more likely to pick up on what they need to do if they see their manager doing it too.
As a leader, make sure you are often talking about safety. Make sure you spot hazards and report them yourself. Play your part. In this way, your employees will feel all the more comfortable adhering to procedures and in turn, your workplace will become a safer one.
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It’s important to remember that WHS procedures are not something that can be ignored, especially as a business grows. Keep in mind that there is a legislative requirement in Australia for all employers or business owners to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their people.
If you need additional support, reach out to a WHS consulting firm near you or seek advice from your regulator. Some states even have free or heavily discounted government funded programs to get you up and running with great health and safety practices (e.g., https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/ohs-essentials-program).
Health and safety procedures – when implemented early, well and with all members of your workforce involved – will ensure the lasting viability of your business, long after your small business or start-up becomes a household name.
And don’t forget that safe, healthy and happy workers are more productive. Productive workers go a long way to make your business a strong and healthy one.
“The opinions expressed by BizWitty Contributors are their own, not those of BizCover and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Please read our full disclaimer."
