Why No Health Safety Will Sink Your Business Strategy

Why No Health Safety Will Sink Your Business Strategy When planning new business strategies, many small company or startup owners have a tendency to focus on the glamorous parts. It’s easy to see why. After all, when you are dreaming big it’s not hard to get too carried away, and there will be many areas of your strategy that you will leave to one side. However, there is one particular area that you simply cannot afford to ignore. Yes, that’s right it’s everyone’s least favorite subject: health and safety. Like it or not, health, safety, and employee wellness can have massive ramifications for your business outcomes. And in this guide, we’re going to explore some of the many ways that ignoring this particular challenge when developing your strategy and setting out your goals. Let’s get started right away with some of the basics. It’s the law OK, so everyone knows that businesses have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees, right? Well, you would certainly think so, but there are a surprising number of companies that seem to forget. Sure, it’s a big obligation and when you are just starting out with a new business idea, it’s easy to be negative about the costs. But when compared to the costs of compensation claims by employees, they soon pale into insignificance. If you want to remember about health and safety, just remind yourself that employers are paying almost $1 million every single week to workers. And the vast majority of those payments are wholly unnecessary if you follow the law and regulations. People die If the money doesn’t help you smell the health and safety coffee, perhaps your good nature will. According to statistics, there are 8,000 workplace accidents every single day in America. And even more tragically, there is an average of 18 deaths every day, as well. If you haven’t covered your responsibilities and made sure you have the relevant health and safety processes in place, you could end up with one of these many tragedies occurring on your premises and pick up the compensation bill, too. It can destroy everything Pretty much every workplace you will ever visit is packed to the brim with flammable equipment and materials. Sure, in the event of a fire, business insurance might pay out, but if you are found to be negligent and at fault it’s your responsibility as the owner, remember then you won’t get a dime. So ensure you have regular fire drills. Learn more about the different fire sprinkler systems you can get and choose one that best fits your business. And make sure everyone is aware of how they should be handling dangerous substances or hazardous equipment. Never mind your business strategy  all it takes is for a loose health and safety policy to encourage bad behaviors, and your entire business could be up in flames within minutes. It’s expensive As we have already established, plenty of business owners are sued on a regular basis for failing to take on their health and safety responsibilities properly. And given that money is likely the driving force behind almost everything in your business strategy, it’s not hard to see how it will have a negative impact. If all of your profits end up going to an injured worker, where will you find the money to fund your growth? Many businesses especially smaller ones can even go out of business completely due to the enormous costs involved. It’s not a good look Your business strategy will also include many ideas for marketing your company. But if you are found guilty of carelessness or failure to look after your staff in the right way, you might as well rip it up and start again. A serious accident in the workplace or proof of an unsafe environment are both PR disasters, and no matter what industry you are in, there will be a long history of companies just like yours who have felt the effects when bad news gets out and their ideal market abandons them for a health and safety conscious competitor. It’s unproductive It’s not just employee accidents you need to watch out for as a business owner it’s also employee health. Lack of care in the wellness department can leave your strategy plans in tatters. Employees who get sick all the time take days off, meaning you will miss deadlines and never seem to hit your time goals. If you don’t maintain a safe and healthy workplace environment, your employees will feel like they are a means to an end rather than part of a team which has a direct impact on their morale and productivity. And finally, someone who is worried about being hurt or picking up an illness at work just isn’t going to put their heart and soul into the job. It’s terrible for recruitment If you run a hazardous ship, do you really expect your employees to keep it to themselves? Word gets around pretty fast in the bars and clubs where workers go for drinks at the end of the week. And guess what? You will soon be subject to all kinds of stories if you don’t take your health and safety seriously. Word will spread it’s that simple. And if your strategy is reliant on filling available roles with the very best people, it’s going to be difficult to achieve if your reputation goes against you. It’s a big mistake It’s easy to understand why so many small businesses and startups don’t think about health and safety in terms of strategy. When you are starting out by yourself or with two or three others, it’s OK to assume that everyone will look after themselves. But if you don’t include health and safety in your plan now, when will you? The reality is that putting a focus on safety right from the very start will mean you begin as you mean to go on. As you can see, it’s a no-brainer that health and safety should be an integral part of your business strategy. And if it isn’t, you are opening yourself up to multiple problems that could ruin everything in one fell swoop.