According to an article in Inc. Magazine, "How to Communicate With Employees," communication between employers and employees (or the lack of it) can be associated with almost every issue that employers might have. These issues include employee morale, job attendance, and levels of performance and productivity. It's interesting because these are many of the same positive benefits that safer companies also enjoy. It's fairly easy to draw the conclusion that safer companies communicate better and companies that communicate better are safer.
What are the Benefits of Communication With Employees?
Training, for example, is one way that companies can communicate their expectations to employees. In an early blog post, "Making the Business Case for Employee Safety Training," we demonstrated how an investment in this kind of training can benefit employers. While the obvious return on such an investment might be a lower rate of incidents and even cheaper insurance premiums, those aren't the only benefits. Companies with good training programs also intend to enjoy higher productivity, better morale, and a great return on their investment. Done correctly, it seems as if safety training classes are one effective method of risk manager communication.
Besides training classes, posting clear safety signs can be a very effective way to warn and remind employees about safety measures. According to the Health & Safety Handbook, these signs should be simple and clear. Some experts advise changing the signs out periodically to make sure that employees don't become sign blind to them.
Suggestions to Improve 2-Way Risk Manager Communication With Employees
Of course, all communication shouldn't be one way. It is also important to be open to feedback from employees. After all, they are the ones out there in the field or on the floor. Being a risk manager means having good communication skills and an understanding of your employees. Often times communication with employees is one of the major downfalls for risk managers. The Inc. article mentions some effective ways to make sure that your company has a culture of communication:
- Create effective communication mechanisms: These can be as simple as a suggestion box or online employee message board. Make sure that employees know how to deliver their own feedback to managers in the company.
- Reward good feedback: Let employees know that feedback gets taken seriously and is very valued by rewarding feedback that results in action. Make people who offer good suggestions into heroes and not pariahs.
- Let employees know their suggestions are valued: Of course, not every suggestion may result in action. However, employees should at least have an opportunity to hear an explanation if their suggestions aren't turned into action. Even if you take anonymous suggestions via a physical or online suggestion box, you can post the suggestions and comments.
How Can We Help You Improve Communication With Employees?
At Ventiv Technology, we have been in the business of developing safety and risk management systems technology for decades. Our solutions can help make safety and good communication part of your company's culture. For example, our software can deliver training and make sure managers know when employees make progress and complete classes. Automatic alerts can help notify stakeholders that something needs attending to or something has changed. We are eager to discuss the many ways our risk management solutions can make your company better.
