Getting Back to It – are your health and safety protocols up to date?
Months of working with the cat sat on your lap are over and working restrictions are lifting. Of course, for many people the world didn’t really change that much, apart from having to work further apart now.
Many offices have been closed and will resemble a dust-covered abandoned ship as it’s doubtful cleaners have been allowed in. Workplace Health and Safety is more than setting up COVID safe workspaces. It should include an overhaul of the business risk assessments. These need to take account of the changes that are being forced upon the workplace by the pandemic. It’s not just putting the measures in place either. You need to explain in clear, concise terms how these will affect working practices.
Fire safety and evacuation procedures will need to be reviewed to ensure they reflect the changes to working protocols.
These new measures need communicating to everyone, including visitors, contractors and visiting drivers as well as your employees.
For some, working from home will become a new normal. This phrase has become very popular since March 2020 hasn’t it. We should start thinking of moving the temporary set ups, slouched on a comfy settee with a laptop for example, to a more permanent situation. Every business has a duty of care to their workforce and this applies to a homeworker, the office or out on site.
There are suppliers able to supply the equipment a homeworker needs, and government grants have been offered to help towards the cost. A firm, steady table and an adjustable chair for example. But, how are you planning to communicate your duty of care in these situations? A well-produced, digital online induction will facilitate that. A good online induction does more than just sending out the information. It is more than simply hoping it has been received. To be health and safety compliant it is necessary to demonstrate to the best of the company’s knowledge its workforce have watched the information if the HSE coming knocking on the door.
How can an organisation reach out?
Updating or creating a digital online induction with new business protocols is essential for any business. This will protect the business and the workforce. A good system will record the inductions have been completed. It should be automatically pushing out notifications that new modules are online for completion to the whole workforce, and should remind them within a set time if it has not been accessed that they need to jump back onto their account. This saves the owner of the system time and energy chasing up those who haven’t complied. Effective video and quiz sessions will ensure a clear, concise message is delivered every time.
Digital communications are here to stay, without any doubt. Converting inductions, compliance training, toolbox talks and more to an online platform makes sense.
For more information about how digital online inductions can work for you get in touch. No obligations, but Resolution understand online health and safety communications. We are embracing the new normal, with video conversations and conference calls if preferred.
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