Maintaining compliance with health and safety regulations should always be a top objective at any organization. By ensuring health and safety compliance throughout all levels of your organization, you’ll have a much easier time building a trusted, reputable brand capable of attracting loyal customers and experienced new talent.
Consistent adherence to health and safety compliance regulations can also give your organization valuable financial incentives that can save you a significant amount of money every year. Read on to learn more about the economic benefits of fostering a work culture that values health and safety compliance.
1. Reduced Penalties and Fines
Work-related incidents, illnesses, or injuries can result in costly health and safety violations. Estimates suggest that over 150 workers suffer from accidents in the workplace every 15 seconds. And each day, some 6,300 workers die due to incidents on the job.
Businesses that fail to mitigate hazards under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) health and safety standards can face steep fines or, in some cases, a shutdown of operations.
Some of these safety regulations include:
- Communicating known work hazards to all employees
- Enforcing the use of personal protective equipment
- Making sure proper lockout/tagout procedures are followed
- Providing employees with the training needed to utilize fall protection equipment properly
2. Decreased Legal Risks
Aside from the lost productivity and downtime associated with work-related incidents, employers who fail to follow workplace safety compliance regulations also expose themselves to costly lawsuits or workers’ compensation claims.
According to OSHA, American employers paid out a total of $1 billion in compensation claims to employees each week in 2018 alone. By consistently satisfying the legal obligations for health and safety, your organization can successfully insulate itself from many costly legal disputes.
3. Lower Insurance Premiums
Implementing a robust health and safety program at your business can help lower insurance premiums for the entire workforce. As organizations seek to improve health, safety, and general wellness, the prevalence of incidents, illnesses, or near misses will decrease, reducing workers’ compensation insurance, life insurance, and liability insurance costs across the board.
Simple preventative measures — such as providing ongoing safety training to employees or specifically assigning individuals to enforce safety compliance — are effective in helping drive down insurance costs. Meanwhile, encouraging workers to pursue a healthier lifestyle by quitting smoking can also provide insurance providers with a concrete reason to reduce premiums.
4. Improved Employee Morale and Retention
Creating a safer workplace contributes to a much more enjoyable job experience for workers. Studies show that a comfortable, healthy work environment improves:
- Worker motivation
- Trust
- Overall employee retention rates
As fewer of your workers seek jobs elsewhere, your organization can save substantial money on recruiting, onboarding, and training new employees. A safe work environment is also directly correlated to worker satisfaction and overall engagement, thus boosting the productivity of your existing workforce.
Conversely, failing to prioritize health and safety can result in higher employee turnover, decreased morale, and diminished job performance.
How Does Compliance With Health and Safety Regulations Benefit You?
In short, health and safety compliance encompasses the continual effort to comply with regulatory guidelines established by various authoritative bodies, such as OSHA or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Health and safety standards are primarily meant to protect employees, but they also define the obligations of employers across various industries regarding work environment protections.
Investments in improved health and safety compliance offer an excellent return on investment across all areas of your organization. Increased organizational efficiency, fewer fines or penalties, greater employee retention, and lower rates of workers’ compensation claims all provide significant cost savings in the long run.
Positive Public Image
Along with the direct financial benefits of health and safety compliance, adhering to all regulatory guidelines will help your business stand out. As word spreads about your commitment to employee well-being, your brand image in the public eye will improve. This, in turn, can positively impact your organization's overall growth, the number of new clients you attract, and to what extent new talent seeks to join your company.
How To Create a Culture of Workplace Safety and Compliance
While building a strong workplace safety culture won’t happen overnight, there are several simple yet effective ways to accelerate the process. Best of all, you don’t need to spend tons of time, energy, or money getting your new health and safety initiative started. Follow these tips to start making health and safety a primary objective at your business today.
Establish a Work Health and Safety Management System
First, you’ll want to develop a comprehensive health and safety management system unique to your industry that lays out the policies for your workforce to follow. This includes:
- Methods for assessing workplace hazards
- Clear-cut communication channels for relaying health or safety concerns
- Concise methods for measuring workplace safety benchmarks
In addition, your health and safety management system should identify specific individuals across all departments who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory guidelines.
Regularly Train and Monitor Health and Safety Practices
Employees should receive ongoing training regarding your business's health and safety practices. In addition to annual refresher courses on pre-established policies, consider offering CPR training, automated external defibrillator (AED) training, and shelter-in-place drills. Employees should also be familiar with egress routes to quickly and safely evacuate the building if needed.
Continually Review and Improve Workplace Safety Procedures
You should regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your workplace health and safety procedures, making improvements where needed to enhance efficiency or overall compliance. You should also implement concrete procedures for auditing workplace safety.
You may also want to consider including health and safety compliance in employee performance evaluations to help incentivize adherence to workplace safety policies.
SafetyPro Resources Can Help You Achieve Compliance
When it comes to maximizing workplace health and safety, there’s no need to do it alone. At SafetyPro Resources, we offer full-service Safety Consultant Services to help you manage all aspects of your organization's health and safety objectives.
Our highly experienced professionals will handle:
- Employee safety training
- Emergency response planning
- Incident investigation
- The development of policies that align with regulatory guidelines
Practice Proactive Safety and Secure Your Business’ Future
Making health and safety a central concern directly benefits every employee while improving your organization's reputation. Along with significant cost savings in the form of reduced liabilities, lower insurance premiums, and higher retention rates, your business will also achieve greater financial stability through increased interest from clients or investors.
Prioritizing health and safety compliance can send ripples throughout your entire company that offer long-term growth, security, and efficiency. If you have questions about how enhancing safety compliance can help your business save more money, book a free (no-obligation) consultation today!
