Safety at the workplace is critical for the success of every temporary employee. Even if you are hiring them for a short time, creating an engaging work environment will make them feel part of your organization. The fact that they are not part of your permanent staff is not a good reason to neglect them.
As far as safety goes, there are different aspects to be considered. Here is a brief look at some of the things you can do to make your temporary staff feel safe while at work.
Enhance their Awareness of the Importance of Personal Safety at the Workplace
Safety begins with each one of us. Whether you are on the streets, walking along an alley at night, or going about your business at your workplace, the fact remains that everyone should take every precaution to ensure their own safety in their immediate environment.
Although this is something that every temporary employee in your team should be aware of, it is still important to remind them of their responsibilities regarding their own safety. You do not have to wait for an incident to happen at the workplace to have this conversation. It should simply be part of the training you give to your temporary staff on their first day of work.
Make Them Feel Part of Your Permanent Team
Though they may be around for just a short while, it is vital that during this time, you make every temporary employee feel like a part of your permanent team. Depending on your organization’s structure and nature, you should never allow any division to arise between the permanent and the temporary staff.
By integrating them into your permanent team, they will feel some sense of safety and will quickly gain the confidence to perform their tasks and duties. Ultimately, they will feel like part of your team. This will surely help eliminate some insecurities they might have because they were hired through an agency.
Make Common Spaces Feel Safe and Secure
Every employee wants to work in a safe and clean environment. As a business owner, it is essential to ensure that your premises and the surrounding areas are safe.
For instance, if your customers and employees both have access to a parking lot, you must secure the area so that everyone feels safe leaving their car for the day. One way of doing this is to improve the parking lot’s visibility using lighting and to have security guards on duty patrolling the area.
Also, you should take every step possible to secure the premises of your business. Where applicable, ensure that you have gates, fences, and secure doors in all potential entry points so that you can effectively and actively control access in and out of the premises.
Installing CCTV cameras in and around the building will also enhance the overall sense of safety, and make everyone, including your customers, feel safe whenever they come around.
Organize Professional Training on Safety
If the nature of work done by the temporary staff demands a higher degree of personal safety, then the initial training when they first join the company may not be enough.
For example, if they will be handling potentially dangerous equipment, or if their work environment comes with higher risks for personal safety, it is highly recommended that you call in an OSHA expert to teach them about personal safety. In particular, they should know about the safety measures that apply to their work environment.
Statistics show that most of the serious accidents experienced by temporary workers in the last few years resulted from the workers not receiving adequate training on personal safety. The last thing you want is to be another statistic for work-related injuries. Thus, you should be proactive in training your employees, ensuring they have a proper understanding of the consequences of not caring for their own personal safety.
Whether you call in an expert to help with the training or do the training yourself, you must document every training offered to the temporary hires.
The reason behind this is that, in case of any incident or a lawsuit, the insurance or the safety inspectors will want to know if the staff received any training. In the absence of any documentation, you would have no evidence to support your claims.
Always make sure to document the training date, the specific description of the training provided, the topics covered, the name of the trainer, and the evaluation method used to assess whether the staff got the training right.