For some organisations, workplace health and safety is just a matter of ticking a few boxes before moving onto more important things. However, this is an extremely limited view and fails to consider the significant impacts safety can have on a company’s performance.
For organisations that want to grow, taking a new look at safety is essential. From worker retention and recruitment to improved reputation and cost savings or even increased contracts, creating a culture of safety can have wide reaching effects. It can even be one of your greatest competitive advantages.
Find out how below.
For some organisations, workplace health and safety is just a matter of ticking a few boxes before moving onto more important things. However, this is an extremely limited view and fails to consider the significant impacts safety can have on a company’s performance.
For organisations that want to grow, taking a new look at safety is essential. From worker retention and recruitment to improved reputation and cost savings or even increased contracts, creating a culture of safety can have wide reaching effects. It can even be one of your greatest competitive advantages.
Find out how below.
Health & Safety can help you with retention and recruitment
The first people a safe work culture impacts is your workers.
They are the ones most significantly affected by workplace accidents, so working for an organisation that supports them is an important factor. Not only can it be a part of the decision in taking a job, it can even impact on their productivity on the job. In fact, the Aviva Working Lives Report found that nearly two-thirds of workers said they would work harder for an employer that invested in their health.
For organisations that don’t practice a safe work site, it will be difficult to both keep workers from job to job but also to recruit new ones for your projects. This increase in recruitment costs can have a serious impact on the budget of your projects, while the required time to find new workers can threaten on your deadlines. This is particularly true when an inexperienced or new work crew will require additional training, once again costing you both time and money. You will also lose the advantage of role models in the workplace, requiring you to also train for your company standards and values.
It can improve your reputation in the industry
In the last few years there has been an increased focus on social and corporate responsibilities. Organisations across the world are now expected to be transparent about their working practices and they will often seek to work with others who share their beliefs.
For construction companies, one of the most important factors is this emphasis on safety and this value driven culture can also grow profits. Studies have found there is a clear and direct relationship between the social behaviours of an organisation and its reputation, sales, brand perception and in fact, their overall value. This is particularly true of large organisations, as the correlation grows stronger as the size of the business increases.
It can save you money
In 2012 – 2013, work related injuries and disease cost the Australian economy 61.8 billion, a figure that represented 4.1% of GDP. Since then, the average cost of work place health and safety costs have continued to rise, reaching an average of $11,500 in 2017. With claims continuing to rise, the very real cost of not focusing on safety is obvious. In contrast, a study by the British Safety Council found that safety interventions demonstrated an ROI of £12 saved for every £1 spent.
Beyond compensation, consider the additional costs of an unsafe environment. From the cost of a site shutdown to the time and wages related to an investigation, failure to provide a safe working environment is an expensive decision.
It can help you win contracts
Encouraging a safe work culture can boost productivity across projects, allowing organisations to maximise their efficiencies and lower costs. And what does that mean? More projects that are completed on time and on budget, further improving your reputation and standing within the industry as well as your ability to bid competitively.
Beyond that, your safety record should be something you are proud of and should be considered a qualification that you can demonstrate as part of your tender.