3 Reasons Why Integrating Safety into Company Culture is a Must
Setting the Scene
Workplace safety and culture, don‘t happen by chance. Both safety and culture are developed and maintained intentionally and in workplaces, and they go hand-in-hand. When you develop a culture of safety, you improve both safety along with experiencing the benefits of a more robust company culture.
When I talk about workplace safety through my role as CEO at Training Tracker, we’re talking about more than just keeping your team safe physically, although that is critical. The concept of workplace safety extends beyond to emotional and psychological aspects of your employees’ daily experience at work as well as their physical safety.
Here are three reasons why creating a culture that prioritizes the mental and physical safety of your employees will strengthen the company as a whole:
- It sets clear expectations for managers, employees, and future applicants. Safety requires a group effort and commitment from everyone on the team. Creating a culture of transparency and communication, where sharing and receiving feedback is part of the norm, will help employees trust and believe in the company. Prioritizing safety demonstrates to employees and applicants that the company highly values their health and well-being, setting a clear standard for how the organization respects and treats its staff. Setting this expectation from day one will also attract applicants who align with this value and will continue to create a safe and healthy environment for future workers.
- It pays back in dividends. A culture of openness and trust pays itself back in dividends, including fewer injuries or illnesses; better morale; lower group health insurance premiums; and a better workflow for all involved. Building a psychologically safe work environment that respects workers’ rights strengthens the company culture. A culture of openness and trust pays itself back in dividends, including fewer injuries or illnesses; better morale; lower group health insurance premiums; and a better workflow for all involved.
- It correlates with the health and longevity and health of your organization. Empowering your employees to make the best decisions for their health and safety underscores your commitment to their well-being and will help them stay committed to the team. A rising tide raises all boats, and a company culture where employees can feel supported to make healthy choices can strengthen their loyalty to the company’s mission. Emphasizing safety also incentivizes employees to take care of their mental and physical health or to seek treatment to do so without fear of backlash.
Integrating Safety Beyond Requirements
When it comes to anti-harassment or, as we call it, Respectful Workplace Training, more and more states have more robust requirements /protections for their residents that, as an employer, we need to follow.
Some states require employees to attend the Respectful Workplace Training at the time of hire and with an occasional refresher. Those refreshers don't have scheduled deadlines, so it could be easy to lose track of completion rates.
For example, California's Respectful Workplace Training requires a classroom session every year and a 1-hour video training every two years. Illinois requires 1 hour of training per year for state employees. Simply adding these two states' requirements instantly makes things more complicated, especially if your company operates in multiple locations.
In addition to Respectful Workplace Training, your organization can and most likely hosts trainings to support employee growth. Unfortunately, these activities can easily be forgotten and missed by those responsible for tracking attendance and related information, like surveys or feedback. Even though not required by any regulatory agency, having these activities happen on schedule, and documenting when employees participate, is vital to the company.
Spreadsheets can only do so much; once you have more than 15 employees or 20 training requirements and a few years of history, there are better tools than spreadsheets. The data becomes too complex and too manual of a process. This is where Training Tracker becomes a key ingredient for building intentional culture.
Creating protocols, onboarding, quarterly or semi-annual training that gives employees the opportunity to develop safety skills, healthy-lifestyle strategies and to reiterate the company’s dedication to psychological and physical safety is simple with Training Tracker.
For more information about how Training Tracker can help you create your plan for a culture of safety and provide excellent educational benefits to your employees, book a free consultation.
