Why You Should Be Prioritizing Risk Management

Every good employer wants to protect their workers from harm, but when financial pressures mount, it can be tempting to let risk management policies slip.

However, failing to engage in effective health and safety is a big mistake. Not only can this lead to tragic human consequences, it can also cause firms to suffer a range of financially ill-effects. The fact is, there is a strong business case to be made for good workplace safety. Here are just some of the reasons why it makes sense to prioritize risk management:

Protecting your most valuable asset

Always bear in mind that your workers are your most valuable asset. Without the effort and skill of your personnel, your company wouldn’t be able to function. This means that if your staff members are forced to take time off through illness or injury caused or made worse by their work, your bottom line will suffer. Your operations may slow down and you might end up having to hire additional workers. For small enterprises, the loss of a key worker can be particularly difficult to cope with.

Meanwhile, serious injuries and illnesses can have a negative impact on the overall morale of workers, leading to further decreases in productivity.

On a related note, if your company doesn’t have a good reputation for safety, you may struggle to attract the best personnel. Given the choice, people will opt to work for organisations that they trust to safeguard their wellbeing. Being unable to recruit the most talented staff members can have a disastrous impact on businesses’ long-term prospects.

Avoiding long and costly legal proceedings

 There is also the legal aspect of health and safety to bear in mind. If you are found to be flouting the law when it comes to risk management, you risk potentially long and costly legal proceedings. Being dragged through the courts can be a major distraction, preventing you from focussing fully on managing your company.

Additionally, bear in mind that if a worker suffers an illness or injury due to a safety failing, they may seek compensation.

Preventing damage to your reputation

Reputational damage is something else to watch out for. Gaining the confidence and trust of customers, business partners and other parties can take a lot of time, effort and hard work. However, destroying your firm’s reputation may take a matter of moments.

On the whole, people prefer not to deal with organisations that they view as irresponsible. Instead, they look for firms that have a good performance record when it comes to health and safety. Therefore, by flouting safety rules you risk putting potential customers off.

Making a savvy investment

Summarising the above points, it makes clear business sense to invest in effective safety procedures. This will help you to prevent potentially serious injuries and illnesses, keep you out of the courts and protect your reputation.

In contrast, if you fail to adopt the necessary risk management policies, you risk seriously denting your bottom line. You may even render your organisation unable to continue operating.

This post was provided by Phoenix Health & Safety, which offers a range of accredited safety training courses and a variety of consultancy services. Whether you need assistance with risk assessments, devising employee handbooks or creating health and safety policies, Phoenix Health & Safety can help.