Small business owners are left with endless responsibilities. There are plenty of areas of your business that demand a lot of focus. The majority of the time, you’ll turn your attention to areas like sales, marketing, and finances. These are the areas you focus on the most because they seem the most important.
But, what if I told you that there’s a critical area of your business you’re neglecting, and it can come and bite you on the backside if you’re not careful! The title gives it away, but I’m talking about health & safety.
What is health & safety?
Health & safety is essentially a term that covers the way in which your business operates, and the way your premises is set up. It’s all about making sure you run a business that’s safe, and doesn’t present risks to anyone’s health – the clue is in the name! There are health & safety regulations that are published by the government which outline different things companies should do to abide by the law and create safe environments for both employees and customers.
Why is health & safety important?
The primary question is; why is this important? What happens when a small business doesn’t focus a lot of attention on this area of their organization? A lot of small enterprises cut corners here, and gamble on health & safety in a bid to save money. It can cost a bit to implement certain things that ensure a working environment is safe, so plenty of people skip this as they don’t fear the consequences.
However, it may surprise you to see how important this aspect of your company is. If you fail to focus on it, then a whole host of bad things can come your way…
Your Business Is Liable
The biggest reason to focus on health & safety is that your business is liable for anything that goes wrong on your premises. If an employee gets injured at work, then it’s on your head. You can see at Kinney Law Group that there are lawyers who work with employees to ensure they gain all the compensation they deserve after a workplace injury. Who do you think pays all that compensation? You do, as the business owner! Now, it’s easy to believe that the odds of an injury taking place are so small that there’s no real need to worry about it. But, all it takes is for someone to trip over a cable, or slip on a wet surface, and you’re in trouble. They’ll file a claim against you, and it will be found out that you didn’t provide a working environment that was free from risks and abided by health & safety rulings.
The same goes for any customers that enter your business and hurt themselves. If it was an accident that wasn’t their fault, then the responsibility is on you. So many companies don’t think about this, and it’s so easy to implement things in your business to ensure you don’t get hit with massive lawsuits and compensation claims. A wet floor sign is all it takes to protect your business and show you’ve taken health & safety seriously. There are other things you need to do as well, but you can read all about them in the rules & regulations.
You Can Be Shutdown
In extreme cases, your small business could be forced to close as the result of poor health & safety. You see, every business should undergo health & safety inspections from time to time. This is to ensure that you’re doing things correctly, and don’t operate a hazardous working environment. Your business receives a rating based on how well you perform, which some companies use as a nice badge of honor to show off how great their company is. It reflects well on your brand when you have a really good h&s rating, so that’s something to bear in mind!
On the other hand, an unsatisfactory rating reflects poorly on your company. It can put people off your business, but things can get even worse than that. As mentioned earlier, your company can be forced to close its doors if you have such a poor rating that you fail the inspection. This closure can be temporary, and you’re forced to improve your premises and get it up to scratch. Or, it could be permanent, and you’re forced to cease operations because your working environment is of such an appalling standard. Therefore, you can see why paying attention to health & safety is pretty darn important!
You Can Lose Employees
Furthermore, if you provide a terrible working environment for your employees, then there’s less chance they’ll stay with your company for a long time. Why would someone want to work in an office that’s potentially dangerous? They wouldn’t, which leads to your employees leaving and looking for a job somewhere else. In a lot of cases, they might even jump ship to your closest rivals, which is a double blow for your business!
Retaining employees is so important as it costs money to hire new people. You have to pay to advertise the jobs, possibly even pay for a third-party recruitment company to help you out, and then you need to train them. All the while, you have a business operating with fewer employees, meaning productivity is low, leading to a possible loss in sales. All of this is entirely possible just because you didn’t give health & safety the respect and concern it deserves. If you did, then you’d have a working environment that your employees would be happy in, meaning they might not leave, and your turnover rates are lower!
There’s clear evidence that shows how important it is for every small busienss to focus on health & safety. Whether you work in an office, a retail store, a warehouse, or even a construction site; take this aspect of your company as seriously as can be. Move it to the top of your priorities as all your hard work in sales and marketing can be undone when you have a business building that doesn’t abide by health & safety regulations.