Workplace values are often reduced to lip service. However, a smart management approach will review, replace and reiterate these core tenets as a matter of course in order to ensure the evolution of the company moves with the times. It protects its most important asset – people.
The failure to take these obligations seriously is highlighted in a recent case brought to bear against an NZ forestry consultancy that resulted in their receiving a fine of $26K. In a tragic turn of events, a life was lost, and the failure to audit the safety plans of its contractor, manage self-audit processes – and review the necessary health and safety documents contributed to the incident.
While it may be tempting to let compliance issues slide, a better attitude is more likely to garner positive results for your company culture, your health and safety record – and your bottom line – is to make it a priority to go beyond compliance.
So what does going beyond compliance look like? What is the workload increase, and what are the tangible benefits of engaging with a health and safety solutions provider?
Partnering With A Health And Safety Solutions Provider
Drafting a comprehensive health and safety program that goes beyond compliance requires observation, research and precise knowledge of the correct way to structure the documents to address the requirements set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015).
You must invest time and energy into this process to ensure you fulfil your obligations. Health and Safety documents must be specifically tailored toward the activities and tasks relevant to your business processes, which can be time-consuming and meticulous.
Upon completion, you are still well advised to have your document checked by a health and safety solutions provider.
Unless you have a dedicated member of staff who understands the legal ramifications of non-compliance and has the time to thoroughly investigate your Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and identify where legal and regulatory compliance needs to be built in, you will likely struggle with this critical task.
The Importance Of Going Beyond Compliance
You may wonder what the value of going beyond compliance might be; you may even feel you already have a safe workplace. This is where engaging with a health and safety solutions provider is vital.
While you may know your job inside out, there are likely to be gaps in your knowledge regarding regulatory compliance; you may even be working at a reduced productivity rate or missing opportunities to build brand loyalty by taking a lax approach to safety.
When you are inside a situation, it becomes more difficult to see the big picture; at this point, a fresh eye and a knowledgeable perspective become critical.
If you want to fix or improve any aspect of your business, you turn to a qualified professional. Leaving the drawing up of your compliance documents to your admin staff should be avoided when you could be working with an expert health and safety solutions provider.
Improved Workplace Culture
Your employees are your greatest opportunity to build brand loyalty in the community – we all talk about our day at work to our friends and family – so employing a safety professional to take care of their wellbeing will have a positive effect beyond providing a safe workplace.
Imagine the resounding impact of a death at work on the well-being of your staff; even minor safety incidents can be wholly unsettling and affect the loyalty you have built up within your team – both to each other and the company.
This may have a domino effect on the ability of your team to look out for each other and could even cause compliance to slide if communication suffers.
A happy team is a healthy team, and the more effort you put into showing your staff you understand their value, the greater the chances are that they will lean into producing excellent work.
Financial Benefits Of Going Beyond Compliance
Companies who engage with a health and safety solutions provider will likely discover they save money. Unsafe work practices don’t just lower employee morale; they also affect productivity and damage your reputation with suppliers and clients.
Understanding hazards starts with an expert approach to your SOPs, mapping and documenting processes correctly and building in checks and warnings.
Using a health and safety solutions provider to correctly approach documentation has a positive knock-on effect on training processes, increases productivity by addressing the gap between theory and practice, and improves cost efficiency as tasks are completed in the most streamlined way.
Reduction In Insurance & ACC Engagement
A safer workplace means less staff engagement with ACC and the possibility of reduced ACC experience rating levies, and the cost of going beyond compliance can mitigate the possibility of investigation costs, downtime and regulatory fines, which could see you out of pocket to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Create A Comprehensive Health and Safety Program Now
If you want to save time and money, call us, and let’s start drawing up a health and safety program that goes beyond compliance.
Working with health and safety solutions consultants that understand how to improve processes, streamline systems and ensure you meet all your legal and regulatory obligations makes sense.
Call now and let our people help you take care of yours.