Evidence indicates that successful organisations have actively developed a positive safety culture which promotes health and safety.
A positive safety culture has benefits across the business – both quantitative and qualitative:
- Kevin Bridges, Safety and Health Practitioner, VP of IOSH
Lower accident rate – employees actively complying with health and safety will lead to less accidents happening.
Lower absenteeism – less accidents means people able to consistently work without taking time off to recover from injuries.
Lower wage bills – no doubled-up costs of sick pay and overtime or temp staff to cover the shortfall.
Reduced risk of fines – companies are subject to hefty fines if the HSE are unhappy with their health and safety practices.
Reduced insurance premiums – less accidents means less insurance claims which equals lower premiums.
Happier workforce – if employees feel safe and secure at work, as well as being involved in the safety policy and procedure process, they’ll be happier.
Lower staff turnover – happy and safe employees rarely leave their jobs. This saves additional costs on recruitment and training too.
Improved productivity – when employees feel happy and safe, they tend to work harder. Also, doing things right means less injuries and improved quality and less waste.
Increased client and stakeholder satisfaction – if quality, efficiency and staff relations are exemplary, a business will have a reputation to reflect that.
At the heart of every positive safety culture are three key factors:
communication,
responsibility and
proactiveness.
It’s no secret that building or changing company culture will take time, but with the resulting benefits of a positive safety culture, the effort will be worth the reward.
