When you have a business of your own, there is a lot that you need to think about. If you are just starting out in the world of business, then it is likely that you are keen to do well. The truth is, a lot of business owners forget that doing well doesn’t just mean making as much profit as possible. There are many different elements to doing business, and they are all equally important. Another valid part of having a business is staying on top of the legal regulations behind it. One of the most important of these is health and safety. We all know how vital this can be. After all, your employees are essential to your business. Looking after them is in everybody’s interest – moreover, it is a legal and moral duty. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the four-step plan to ensuring you are doing everything you can to keep people safe.
Protect
The first step is to ensure that you are properly protecting your staff from any potential problems with might occur. What this means ultimately is that you are doing everything in your power to prevent the worst happening. To be able to do that, you need some time and quite a lot of patience. You need to go through every part of your building and your business and make sure that everything is as it should be. There is so much here that is beyond the scope of this post. However, the basics are ensuring that no obvious hazards are allowed to continue. The main thing here is to remember to adopt an attitude of proactive protection. This is far preferable to letting something happen and then working to fix it as quickly as possible.
Prepare
Of course, in order to protect, you need to know what you are protecting and from what. That’s why the next step in the plan is to be prepared. This, again, covers many diverse things, but generally the message is the same. You need to make sure that your office building is kitted out to be prepared for anything happening. For example, have you got the proper first aid supplies in place throughout the building? Do you have a plan in place for if someone has an injury? You need to make sure you are prepared for every eventuality.
Training
The truth is, health and safety is not just your own responsibility. It is the responsibility of everyone who works in your building. With that in mind, it is essential that you keep your staff as well-trained on health and safety matters as possible. You should ensure that you are carrying out training sessions every now and then. What’s more, make sure that everyone feels comfortable asking for advice or help if they need it. Above all, encourage a culture of open and honest communication.
Reflect
Finally, remember to take the time to reflect on anything that does go wrong. At the end of the day, you can’t control everything. It is likely that something will happen at some point. When it does, the most important thing is that you remember to learn from it. That way, you can better protect your people in the future.
