Here’s How You Can Create a Culture of Safety in the Workplace

Workplace safety is based on how well the employer and employees know, communicate, and adhere to safety policies and practices. It is therefore the responsibility of both parties to build a culture of safety in the workplace. Because this requires a proactive safety attitude and a team approach, here are 3 tips to help you create a culture of safety at work:

 

1. Communicate health and safety matters in an effective manner

Communicating relevant information about safety is the first step to building a safety culture in the workplace. This can be done through holding regular meetings regarding health and safety issues, policies, and practices. Put up posters around the workplace and make health and safety more visible. Another effective way of raising awareness is by sending out information through email, newsletters, and any other internal communication platforms available at your workplace.

 

2. Encourage suggestions and reporting

It is important to encourage making suggestions and reporting issues in the workplace. An effective way of doing this is by creating channels that all staff members can use to give suggestions and to report any issues. It is then important that the relevant parties, such as management or health and safety committee members, act promptly to resolve any issues and implement good suggestions. This encourages buy-in from all parties.

 

3. Provide continuous health and safety training

Providing continuous training to everyone in the workplace enables all employees to have the necessary knowledge to prevent potentially risky and dangerous situations from occurring. This way, everyone also knows what to look out for and what to do should any accidents occur. A company of well-trained employees ensures that there is a positive and proactive attitude towards safety. This way, health and safety becomes a priority.

Also read: Discover the Biggest Health and Safety Risks in the South African Workplace

 

To further ensure the safety of employees in the workplace and to create a culture of safety, health and safety officers play an important role. Depending on the type of organisation, these individuals are responsible for a variety of tasks, such as working on and implementing safety policies and ensuring that the company is up to date with health and safety laws and regulations.

Read more here about the career of a safety officer, and how you can become one.

 

In order for employees to feel safe at work, a culture of safety needs to be created in the workplace. This requires the buy-in of everyone in the workplace. Remember, with effective communication, continuous training, making use of suggestions from employees, and ensuring that health and safety hazards are sorted out as soon as they are reported, everyone can feel safe at work.

 

View our OHS courses that could help you to create a culture of safety in your workplace.

Click Here