Why It’s So Important to Provide Health & Safety Training in Your Business

holly-shaw.jpg  Freelance Business Writer

  WWS contributor

hor-z.png

While health and safety training may incur an additional financial cost to a business, it keeps the company thriving and, best of all, it saves lives.

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In every business operation, health and safety protocols exist to create a secure environment for employees and employers while working. It exists to be strictly followed as mandated by the government to protect the right to live and work freely and safely. Thus, every business owner must ensure that everyone in the company understands and abides by the protocols.

To implement this effectively, health and safety training has to occur in which every employee of the business has to attend and make time for.  The training needs to be done regularly to ensure longer retention resulting in physical, mental, and emotional preparedness.

Health and safety training mainly discusses the importance of safety and health in the workplace. Through the training, the employees will have a comprehensive understanding of the protocols, the control measures, and the necessary instructions to prevent and reduce the possibility of accidents, injuries, and illnesses.

Despite the business's current status, small or big, having employees improve in this skill area can have lasting effects on the company. Contrary to the fact that this has to be followed as required by the law, conducting health and safety training can significantly benefit every business, whether it's in the food industry or construction.

Here're some of the important ways this can benefit your company or business:

 

1. It helps increase workforce productivity.

 

When you prioritize the enforcement of health and safety protocols in your workplace, your employees make it easier for them to trust you. It is vital to encourage a safe and welcoming environment for employees to encourage them to do their job best unconsciously.

Employees love to work in a company where their safety and health is given the utmost importance. It is a win-win situation for the employees and the employer. The more the employees feel the management's care, the more they exude positive energy and show significant work productivity.

Moreover, it creates a healthy communication atmosphere where relevant information regarding health and safety in the workplace can foster.

 

2. It saves a lot of unforeseen costs.

 

While health and safety training may incur an additional financial cost to your business, this will surely pay off in the long run. It is vital to note that workplace injuries and illness can be costly too. If you do not find the balance and prepare for the worst, you will most likely pay for medical costs, rehabilitation, and possible personal injury claims.

Moreover, you may also have to face other indirect costs such as the repair of damaged mechanical equipment, the need to hire another employee, the stress of facing bad publicity, and a lot more. These could affect your company negatively if left unattended.

Thus, investing in health and safety training encourages your employees to take care of themselves as they witness the management's efforts to prevent severe accidents from happening in the workplace.

 

3. It builds an excellent company reputation.

 

One way of showing how sincere the company is towards the employees' well-being is through conducting regular health and safety training. It is not a waste to keep an hour or two from the regular work schedule for this as it could be an excellent breather for employees to prioritize their health and safety.

Any business that successfully implements health and safety training builds a great reputation through the employees' good words. There is no way to spread news like wildfire than word of mouth. It enables an excellent image for the clients, attracts talented employees in turn, and increases sales growth, in one way or another.

On the other hand, if the company does not show even the slightest care towards its employees, it yields opposite and disappointing business results.

 

4. It reduces the risk of workplace accidents and injuries.

 

The main goal of having health and safety training is to prevent and reduce accidents and injuries in the workplace. Accidents may come as unforeseen events, and despite being careful, it happens. If the employees are well-trained and if your business has an amazing incident reporting system, they can most likely spot the possibility of harm in the workplace.

Thus, they can prevent any worst-case scenario from happening. This skill is vital for every employee to learn and adapt, as workplace accidents can be life-threatening and more prone to permanent injuries. High-quality, comprehensive, and well-planned health and safety training can help employees improve this vital skill and apply them to real-life scenarios.

 

5. It helps retain the most talented and loyal employees in the company.

 

In every successful business lies a high-quality, talented staff that keeps the business up in the running. Every employer's bread and butter are these loyal employees and keeping as close to them as possible is an important goal.

Through prioritizing their health and safety, the employees give their loyalty towards the company in exchange. It reduces the employees' chances to find another employer who could provide the needed compassion they need that you, unfortunately, failed to offer.

Moreover, it benefits the business for saving costs in finding, hiring, and training another set of employees on which the loyalty is yet to be examined. Thus, having regular health and safety training is proven to increase job satisfaction for the employees and decrease possible hiring stress and expenses.

 

In conclusion

 

Health and safety training may be time-consuming and financially draining for some. Yet, its benefits make it worth doing in the long run. Every business owner must see this other side of the training and use this perspective to make the training a reality.

There is more to health and safety training in the workplace than a mere requirement of the law. It talks about the welfare of every employee. The more the business is people-centred, the more significant benefits the business experiences. It is exactly the same with your employees. The more you place their health and safety as your topmost priority, the more they stay and give their all as an employee.

Besides, health and safety training involve a stress-reduction plan for every employee in the workplace. The emotional and mental well-being are both significant factors in determining the employee's condition and success of a business. So, every business owner should not take this training for granted. It keeps the company thriving and, best of all, it saves lives.


Holly Shaw is part of the content team at Engage EHS. Holly has worked in the health and safety industry since graduating from university. When not writing about health and safety practices, Holly can be found researching new travel locations.