Leaders and managers are responsible for ensuring that their workers are safe and secure at all times. Understanding the needs of your employees and how you can make sure that they are appreciated and maximize their potential.
Here are some things that great leaders will look at when it comes to keeping their employees for the long haul.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Awareness
Depending on the industry, you might have employees that are regularly put at risk. It might be at risk of criminal activity, cybercrime, physical attacks, or theft. On-the-job accidents can happen too and are common in many different industries; most often, they occur in a labor environment.
All new hires should make an effort to help them be aware of the potential dangers around them. But employees that have been around a while should also have regular refresher courses to keep them vigilant too.
Drills
Do you remember in school where you would have fire drills and other disaster drills? You’d be taught how to react, what to do, where to go, and exit in the safest and fastest manner. Drills are an essential part of the process for keeping your workers safe.
During a drill, you can work with risk assessors to highlight where you could make improvements and how that can work in a practical sense.
Workers Compensation
Having workers’ comp isn’t just good for your employees; it is good for your business too. Should anything happen, despite your best efforts to prevent it, your business won’t take a hit.
Not only that, but your workers are protected from loss of wages, and it can help with medical costs too.
Development
How do you plan to move your workers forward? What opportunities will you present them with so that they can progress in their career? Many businesses don’t want to upskill employees as they risk losing them. But as the saying goes, imagine if you don’t upskill your workers and they stay?
Offering career advancement or training (preferably both) isn’t just good for the team. A higher set of skills means your team will be able to do more and perform at a higher level too.
Create an individualized development plan for each of your team members, and work with them to make sure that what is outlined within the document is achieved.
Exits
The saying ‘I never thought it would happen here’ is one commonly dished out after an incident. Never be tempted to put things in front of any of the exits; blocking exits is a considerable risk factor, and if you have a safety inspection, this will be a failure.
Having a clear exit with a working sign and a path directly to it is essential for making sure if you need to, your team and you can get out.
Culture
The security and safety of your staff shouldn’t be something that is ‘nice to have’; it should be built into the culture of your company. Issues should be able to be reported and dealt with, see something, say something, and support are just a few of the ways to make this work.
Leadership isn’t just one thing; it is many things, and to be a great leader – even with the smallest team, you need to constantly evolve: Reel Leadership | Joseph Lalonde
