Employers have rarely had a harder time attracting and retaining the right employees. When California employers were asked to rank the most important issue they currently face, 78% said employee engagement and retention.
Much of employers’ hiring and retention challenges come from a mismatch between the skills of the labor force and the needs of employers. But another significant factor is workers who have taken time during the pandemic to rethink what they want from their employment and what type of pay and treatment they are willing to put up with.
Yes, employees want better pay. But they also want better treatment. They want respect, civility, appreciation, and a sense of belonging. They want employers who care about them.
Employees want to know that their employers will have their back when the excrement hits the fan. Will the employer take them seriously and take meaningful steps to protect them if someone harasses or abuses them at work? Is the employer making wise choices to keep the business healthy in an economic downturn? Does the employer have a plan to keep everyone safe in an emergency?
In most cases, employees can only guess how their employer will treat them when things go south. You can concretely demonstrate that you care about the welfare of your employees by taking action in advance on workplace safety and emergency preparedness.
Safety and security are basic human needs. In Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, they are the most fundamental, just above physiological needs (food, water, warmth, rest). Employees don’t just want a safe and secure work environment. They need it to be able to focus and do quality work. They are also legally entitled to it. OSHA regulations require that every employer furnish each worker with employment and a place of work free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees to his employees. They are also required to find and correct safety and health hazards.
Many employers will say safety is a top priority. But priorities can change. Safety needs to be among the things that never change for a company: it has to be a company value. Values are the tent poles of company culture. They are the way we do things here. Keeping each other safe should be a part of the company’s written (and lived) values.
A critical part of safety is keeping employees safe in an emergency. Every company with 10 or more employees is required to have a written emergency action plan. If you have one, do your employees know it? Are they familiar with it? Can they easily grab a copy and follow the instructions if the power goes down? Having a printed emergency action plan on every employee’s desk or in plain view will reassure them that their employer has thought through how to keep everyone safe. Conducting regular drills, tabletop exercises, and safety checks will raise employees’ level of confidence, both in your active concern for them and in their own abilities to respond well in an emergency.
Have you evaluated your workplace with “earthquake eyes?” That means assessing every room for furniture and objects that could tip over or go flying in an earthquake, then securing or moving everything that could pose a danger to your employees. Most of the fixes needed are easy and low-cost. The return on this investment is enormous. Employee loyalty will continue to rise as they see these injury prevention steps being taken. When an earthquake occurs, if injuries are few and minor, you will also have far lower financial and emotional costs.
Have you taken financial steps to ensure that your company can weather an emergency? Do you have insurance that covers the likely hazards in your area? Do you have good business interruption insurance? Do you have reserves and a line of credit? These financial steps will provide you with the resources you need to reopen quickly so that your employees will still have jobs. These steps will be less obvious to employees in advance of an emergency. But they will become glaringly clear to them when they have little to no income interruption when an emergency strikes because you have the financial resources to reopen quickly and put them back to work.
When your company takes steps to create a real and active safety and preparedness culture, word-of-mouth will spread. You will become known for safety in the talent pool in which you recruit. Employees will vote the company onto Best Places to Work lists, further bolstering your recruitment edge.
Investing in safety and preparedness has an insanely high ROI: lower workers’ compensation and liability insurance premiums; happier, more productive employees; better employee retention; and easier talent recruitment. Above all, you gain the peace of mind of knowing you’ve done the most important things to protect your employees and your business as we face more frequent and severe emergencies. Make this your competitive edge.
There is a lot that goes into effective emergency preparedness. You don’t need to figure it all out by yourself. We can help you create a powerful preparedness program. Schedule a complimentary strategy session now.
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