For business owners, lone worker safety is often thought about simply in terms of outlay – safety equipment and protective gear can be expensive, after all.
As such, it’s easy to forget that a robust safety regime can benefit the business too.
Most obviously, safe workers are happy workers, meaning they are more productive and likely to stick with the company for the long haul.
But a lone-worker safety regime can also bring more tangible benefits to a business, including lower insurance premiums and reduced pay-outs to sick and injured employees.
Below, we take a closer look at some of the competitive advantages that a good lone worker safety regime can bring to a company.
Productivity Gains
Employees work best and most productively when they feel valued.
However, around a third of employees (33%) report they believe factors such as work deadlines and financial targets take precedence over employee safety.
This inevitably has a knock-on effect when it comes to staff morale and productivity – if the lone worker feels their employer hasn’t got their back when handling hazardous materials or working on a dangerous worksite, they are unlikely to give it their all.
With the right lone worker safety equipment and tech, a company can take the stress and worry out of working alone.. As such, the worker can get on with the job, safe in the knowledge that, should an accident or emergency arise, systems are in place to sound the alarm.
Improved Communications
There is often a disconnect between how a lone worker feels about the safety measures a company uses and the employer’s perception of the same safety guidelines.
For example, a recent poll found that 94% of companies awarded themselves 10/10 for how seriously they take the safety of lone workers.
Just 45% of their lone workers concurred.
An employer can start to bridge this gap with the right safety protocols and regimes, improving worker morale and communications channels at the same time.
A good place to start is during a risk assessment, when all parties should be consulted to identify the biggest risks and hazards workers face while on a job.
Good communication channels foster confidence and understanding, which again boosts staff morale and productivity.
Worker Retention
For many businesses, especially ones that ply their trade in dangerous and hazardous environments, keeping hold of lone workers can be difficult.
Employers with a poor safety record lose staff in two main ways – through injury or illness, or as a result of employees moving to companies with better safety records.
Over 300,000 individuals in the UK leave their jobs annually due to health issues that limit their ability to work.
A robust lone-worker safety regime helps in two ways in this regard: it encourages workers to stick with the company, and ensures that the risk of injury or death on the job is minimised.
Lower Insurance Premiums
In the UK, employer liability insurance to the tune of £5m is obligatory for all businesses.
Among the criteria an insurer uses when setting premiums is a company’s claims history and the severity of injuries and illnesses suffered by the workforce.
As such, if a business can show a history of low claims and a healthy record of managing risks and dangers, its premiums are likely to be lower.
A lone worker alarm should be at the heart of any lone worker safety regime.
Alarms put a range of safety tools at the worker’s disposal, including GPS tracking, true man-down detection, always-on-top SOS buttons and panic buttons.
Investment in one of these alarms will reap benefits in the long run and pay for itself by boosting productivity, staff morale and lowering insurance premiums.
