4 Steps Company Leaders Can Take Now for Safer Workplaces

14 Colorful Files

Employee safety is more important than ever. Unfortunately, planning and preparing for workplace threats has to be top of mind for many business owners. Here are 4 areas on which company leaders can focus to keep your most valuable assets, your people, safe and prepared for emergencies.

1. Security
Does your office have a security system? Do you need one? It is very important to evaluate the needs of your business security offering. Assess your building, find the areas that are most vulnerable, and strengthen those areas. Security can come in many different forms, such as cameras, keyed entry, and passwords. Find the combination of solutions that work best for you.

The goal is to be proactive. Ensuring that your building is secure will keep your employees at ease.

2. Awareness
Situational awareness is extremely important when providing a safe workplace. Situational awareness is less of a skill and more of a mindset and can be practiced daily to prevent dangerous situations.

Most employees have a general understanding of the people entering their business and should trust their instincts when signs of danger are present and seek help. Trusting your instincts, while cumbersome, can stop a serious situation from developing.

3. Planning
No matter what type of danger your employees face, earthquakes, flooding, tornados, or an intruder, it is important to be prepared. Have an emergency plan in place and communicate it to your employees. Every employee should know where to go, who to contact, and how to access the work systems remotely when an emergency situation takes place.

Create a team within various areas to start brainstorming and identify the various potential threats to your business. Pinpoint which areas are high risk and plan accordingly.

4. Communicate
Make sure you have the ability to communicate to authorities, employees, and the public when a crisis takes place. Communicate immediately to your employees and remain calm. Be sure to have instructions ready for employees on how to respond to the emergency situation.

There is not a perfect plan for every event. The main goal is to stay proactive to keep employees safe and informed. For more information on helping your company leaders create a safer workplace, please contact Nextep’s HR team.

Get training for a safer workplace!
Nextep’s online training library has thousands of courses for leaders and employees in English and Spanish, including:

  • Preventing workplace violence
  • Bullying at work
  • Active shooter training
  • Diffusing hostility
  • Guns at work
  • Preventing harassment at work

Contact our HR department to learn more about our affordable, comprehensive training library.

Also on Nextep

The Answer Depends on Your State…For Now As we reported in January, non-compete agreements preventing employees from working for competitors are becoming increasingly unenforceable. The FTC is currently working on banning them at a federal level, but unless and until that decision comes, non-competes are enforced at a state (and sometimes even local) level.  As […]
Read more
When hiring workers, knowing whether they’re employees or independent contractors is essential. The difference between the two can significantly impact your business, including your tax liability, your liability for workers’ compensation claims, the worker’s rights and benefits, and your ability to control how your workers do their jobs. Read all about it here, and check […]
Read more
Employers Must Now Prove “Substantial Increased Cost” to Deny Religious Accommodation Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that employers must now demonstrate a substantially increased cost to deny an employee’s request for a religious accommodation.  This ruling, which comes in the case of Groff v. DeJoy, clarifies the standard for “undue hardship” under Title VII of […]
Read more
Here’s How the Recent Ruling Affects Your Company You may have read that in late June, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions. Here’s the implication this ruling could mean for you as a small or medium-sized business owner. To be clear, the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action does not explicitly […]
Read more
NLRA Protections: They’re Not Just for Unions In the intricate fabric of company dynamics, employee protections exist, even in non-unionized companies, as granted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). These protections give employees the freedom to engage in open discussions on various workplace matters, even those conversations that may make employers a tad uneasy. […]
Read more
Have you ever felt stuck in a job that doesn’t fully utilize your skills or expertise? Or have you ever been a part of a team that just doesn’t seem to have the right skills to do the job effectively? This is a common problem in the workplace, known as the skills gap. But don’t […]
Read more
Start planning for your future superstar. What would happen to your company if you lose a key leader or employee tomorrow? It’s a tough question, but necessary. You want to ensure your company can continue, even without the lifeblood that keeps it running smoothly today. That’s where succession planning comes in. Succession planning is identifying […]
Read more
Let’s talk about something that can make a huge difference in our work lives – Emotional Intelligence (EI).  Emotional Intelligence is like a superpower that helps us navigate our own emotions and understand the emotions of others. It’s all about self-awareness and empathy, which leads to better communication, stronger relationships, and improved decision-making. It’s like […]
Read more
Maximize Your Team’s Career Potential Ongoing employee training is crucial to any successful business. It’s the foundation upon which we build our success, the cornerstone of growth and progress. But here’s the catch: we can’t just train our employees once when they’re hired and call it done. We must all be perpetual students, learning new […]
Read more
How can you prioritize ethics in the workplace? Leaders play a critical role in shaping the ethics and values of a workplace. Here are 5 surefire ways that you, as a leader, can be modeling ethics from the top down: Lead by example: You set the tone for the rest of the organization, so it’s […]
Read more
Help support your employees in a tough economy Let’s talk about supporting employees in a tough economy. It’s a challenging time for everyone, but it’s imperative that employees feel valued and supported during tough times. Here are some ways companies can care for employees in a tough economy: Offer flexible work arrangements: Offer flexible work […]
Read more
Thriving in Turbulent Times Growing your business during an economic downturn can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. With the right approach and creativity, you can position your business for success, even in tough economic times. Here are some tips to help you grow your company, even when the economy isn’t looking so hot: 1. […]
Read more

Download Our App