Starting a new company is an exciting moment for every business owner. Getting the office set up, recruiting the best team members, and getting the business off the ground are all part of the excitement. There are a lot of details to figure out, but you can tackle more than one challenge at a time because you have so much energy to do everything.
Creating a healthy and safe work environment is one of the keys to success for every new company. Whether it is a hip office with sleek interior design or a more traditional workplace with an efficient office layout, safety is a factor that you must never neglect. These six actionable safety tips are the ones every start-up owner must know.
Start!
Safety policies and supporting rules aren’t something you want to establish later. They work better when they are put in place from day one. It is easier to establish a safe working environment than to make changes later, which is why it is never too early to start.
You have plenty of resources at your fingertips when it comes to safety policies. Government agencies and private health and safety consultants regularly publish office safety standards and policies you can follow. Simply pick the policies that work with the type of work environment you are setting up and you are all set.
Get Employees Involved
It is also a great idea to get employees involved in the process of establishing health and safety rules and policies. Let them provide input and take their opinions into consideration. It is much easier to get employees to follow policies they help set up than to tell them what to do in a one-way fashion.
Your employees will be the ones interacting with the office equipment. They are involved in the day-to-day operations of the company and the safety policies you put in place will affect them the most. Letting them provide input will also give you better insight into the challenges they face and how to deal with those challenges in a safe way.
Distribute Clear Instructions
There is no such thing as being too careful when it comes to health and safety at the office. You need to take safety policies a step further and start writing down clear instructions for employees to follow. Turn these instructions into signs and place them in the respective areas.
Policies are there to help employees understand how to maintain safety in the office. Instructions placed near office equipment or machinery will keep employees on their best behaviour and allow them to stick to safety policies meticulously. You can also combine the instructions with training sessions to achieve better workplace safety.
Don’t Skip the Little Details
Most office-related accidents are caused by the smallest errors. Many companies made the mistake of neglecting the little details when setting up their factories and offices. This is NOT the mistake you want to make, especially when establishing a new start-up.
You can, for example, get data cabling support to help keep the office tidy and safe. Instead of allowing network cables to run across the floor or creating a huge mess on your employees’ desks, you can now rely on desk cable management services to keep everything organised.
Fussing over cable management may seem like a small step to take when setting up an office space.That said,good cable management helps reduce office accidents (i.e. employees stumbling over wires) substantially. Never skip the little details.
Cleanliness Matters
You also can’t separate office safety with cleanliness. A lot of the risks faced by employees working in an office are closely related to office cleanliness. Dust, for instance, can cause serious health problems among employees when it is not cleaned up properly. Spilled water and grease are known causes of office accidents.
You invest a lot of time, energy, and money into creating a sleek office that employees love. Dropping the ball and failing to keep the office clean and safe would be a mistake. Besides, you can get employees to participate in keeping their office space clean.
Train and Supervise
Establishing safety policies and creating rules to maintain a safe working environment are just the first steps towards keeping your new start-up office safe. In order to maintain employee safety, there are a few more steps you can take. Regular health and safety training is definitely among those steps since training can keep employees in tune with the company’s safety policies.
You also need to get involved in supervising the implementation of office safety rules. These rules are put in place early; changes may be required as your startup faces more challenges in the future. Don’t wait until an employee (or employees) is hurt in an office accident. Make the necessary changes as soon as you spot new risks and keeping your vibrant start-up office safe will be easy.
Featured Image
