Nibletz Staff
You have finally started up your own business after months of planning, working hard and setting everything up. You are ready to conquer the market with brilliant customer service, a second-to-none product and a fantastic attitude… but you feel like you’ve forgotten something.
Health and safety is boring and, frankly, no-one ever wants to talk about it. However, it is incredibly important for every business to set out some clear guidelines for their staff to ensure that everyone is safe, healthy and happy in the workplace. You might be used to working as a lone entrepreneur, but now that you have a staff, you need to shift your focus and look after them too.
Purchasing the Right Equipment
Most aspects of health and safety won’t come with a financial implication but ensuring that your purchase the correct equipment for your staff to work safely is vital from the outset. You need to make sure that any risk is carefully managed and that you are within industry regulations for every piece of equipment.
The best equipment isn’t always the most expensive, though. You can – and should – still aim to get the best for your money. For example, if you run a business that includes welding as a service, you could look at sales from weldingoutfitter.com to get the best welding helmets for your workers.
Fire Safety Procedures
We tend not to think about fires since they are so rare, but fire safety is absolutely paramount in any setting. This means that you need to ensure that all your staff are made familiar with evacuation procedures and that fire doors are clear of any obstacles. It’s also a good idea to have a poster detailing the procedure in an obvious position in your office or on site to act as a reminder.
Office Rules and Regulations
As well as fire safety procedures, you should also have a more general code of conduct that every member of staff is aware of. Your code of conduct should contain guidance for all your staff on how to handle everything from bullying to ethical working. Think of it as a promise everyone makes when they join the company about how they agree to behave.
This is an overlooked area of health and safety because a lot of people assume that colleagues will behave properly without prompting. Unfortunately, the workplace is rife with potential issues from sexual harassment complaints to accusations of bullying. Having a document that outlines exactly what the rules are, how to go about raising an issue and how an issue will be handled should make dealing with any social problem much more clear-cut. If nothing else, your code of conduct will ensure consistency in how matters are handled.
The reality is that you probably won’t have to worry about health and safety until a problem comes up. But, when health and safety is taken seriously and measures are put into place, you and your staff can work much more happily together, knowing that there are rules and procedures for every eventuality.
