Workplace safety is a topic most employers have at the top of their priority list. Not only to maintain standards and compliance but also to foster a workplace culture of trust and commitment.

Creating an effective safety plan for the workplace and then getting everyone from the front line to the managers to comply is critical. It starts with conversations in these departments to lead by example and promote a space for productivity health and safety to thrive.

Here are tips for talking about safety with employees.

Keep Open Communications Channels

One of the best ways to maintain a good company culture is to keep the communications channels open between managers and staff. If you want to be able to talk to employees about safety concerns and changes that need to happen at operations, they need to feel as equally open to sharing their issues with you and working to correct actions. This comfort with management helps workers to feel like their welfare is important and will open them up to making important changes to be safe on the job.

Offer Positive Feedback and Coaching

It’s not only about waiting until an employee comes to you to talk about safety that changes should be considered. In fact, there should be regular shop walk-around and safety checks done on site to help ensure that operations are up to code and compliant. This is also the perfect opportunity to have a dialogue and hands-on feedback session with employees. These one-on-one teaching sessions are critical to helping individual workers understand the correct way to do things and what’s expected of them from the top. All of this feedback should be done with positive reinforcement and praise. Instead of reprimanding or negatively talking about how the employee is performing for the best outcome.

Lead by Example

As the rule makers and enforcers, it’s absolutely vital to demonstrate the same safety measures you expect of employees. If wearing safety goggles is mandatory, don’t walk around the shop floor even as a visitor without them. Setting the bar for what’s acceptable and rewarding good behaviors is a sure way to get employees on board with safety at your workplace and preventing injuries before they can occur.

Order Bulk First Aid Supplies

The other part of the equation is having the right supplies in place to keep employees confident when it comes time to address emergencies. Keeping a first aid cabinet on site is critical. Shop 1stAidSupplies.com for bulk supplies and cabinets filled with all the supplies your workplace needs.