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Sharing the load is always a good way of dealing with life and Health and Safety is no exception to the rule. Consulting with your employees is a legal requirement anyway but if you only pay that token lip service then you don't know what you are missing out on - genuinely! Getting your employees involved in a positive and constructive way will produce some amazing results for your business, it is a proven fact that you should not ignore. However I know that many employers do ignore it because when I mention employee consultation when I am carrying out an audit I can see the fear in the Managers eyes. Fortunately when I show them the benefits that they can achieve the fear diminishes very quickly in deed. The benefits I mean are listed here. - Better working relationships. - Higher safety rates and performances. - Better working practices. - Better working conditions/environment. - Less time wasted moaning and groaning. - Improved attendance records. - Less time spent investigating accidents, incidents and near misses. Now consider this for a moment or two. These benefits will not only improve Health and Safety within your workplace, they will improve performances in every area of your business, from productivity to profit margins. The money and time you invest in Health and Safety and your employees involvement will be returned to you time and time again. You can prove it to yourself by answering the following questions, if you do not know the answers then I am afraid you have a big problem. How much time do you lose through illness/sickness/stress? How much money do you spend paying wages for the above? What productivity problems does the above give you? How much time do you spend giving first aid to minor injuries caused by things like slips, trips and falls? (Don't forget to include the first aiders time as well as the injured persons, along with completing accident reporting and investigation forms etc.) I have only scratched the surface here and I am sure that now you have your thinking hat on you can thing of lots of other areas where you may be losing time and money needlessly. Oh, and if you didn't know the answers to those questions then I can only assume that you don't mind pouring unknown amounts of time and money down the drain - straight off your bottom line! Remember, your employees are no different to you, they like to feel involved, a part of your team giving a worthwhile contribution to your business success and the more you can encourage that the better off you will be Health and Safety wise as well business wise.
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