Did you come back to work from the festive break feeling refreshed and full of ideas on how to make your business even better this year (let’s call them unofficial resolutions)…..but now somehow it’s already February and nothing has really changed?
No better time to start than now. Why not take a fresh look at your overall health and safety practices and managing staff wellbeing to keep safety at the top of mind for your business over the coming year.
A good starting point is to review and/or update your Health & Safety policies. We advise customers to review their policy annually. You should have policies in place for testing your fire alarms every week, checking all extinguishers, practicing an evacuation drill and checking the emergency lighting. Regularly check Health and Safety signage for damage and fading and if applicable, check all PPE – Personal Protective Equipment for your staff. Is it fit for purpose?
Ensure you try involve all of your employees in all things health and safety related and take any feedback seriously. You could even offer incentives and rewards for reducing accidents and incidents across the year. Remind them that if you see something that is broken or needs fixing; report it, don’t just assume someone else will. Also, look at delegating someone to check the first aid kit once a month – is everything in date? Do stocks need replenishing?
However, keeping up to date with legislation can be tricky. if you need support with this, talk to our consultants about our hassle free service.
Once your policies are upto date, then you can review your Risk assessments if you haven’t done so already. If you’ve added new policies then you probably need new risk assessments to go with the new procedures.
You also need to make sure your staff wellbeing is well supported. Encourage them to take a break from PC monitors and undertake a different task to give their eyes a rest where possible. Even if it’s doing the dreaded filing instead. A clear desk = a clear mind. And make sure they have access to plenty of fresh water, after all they need to aim to drink atleast 2 litres per day.
We all have colleagues who will need support with the cost of living crisis which has created increased anxiety and stress. Some can even be at risk of burnout from working too many hours trying to make more money. We mean, don’t just offer some good faith wellbeing activities to show willing, ask your staff/colleagues what would help them with wellbeing and managing stress and set about devising a plan to help them. Check out our training focus this month on Mental Health First Aid.
Be a role model – inspire your staff to have a healthy work ethic. Work at a standard pace and sensible hours, you can’t do it all, as much as we all think we can. Ensure you hold regular team meetings/brainstorming sessions – getting other points of view and opinions can be really helpful in seeing things through non tinted -glasses. They could give you a ground-breaking fresh idea or hypothetical “what-if” scenarios. It will also give you an insight into how they think.
Finally, review/check current qualifications for expiry and identify any new training requirements (With over 60 different courses including a range of accredited programmes, bespoke courses and e-learning we have the right course for you and your staff).
If you are interested in finding out more about what Acorn Health and Safety can do for your business, please contact us
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