Actual Comments on Why Employees Leave:
“Certain situations would put me in danger and I was told to just do my job. Even though we had safety meetings we were made to disregard them when working at certain job sites. It was all about doing the job with no regard to employee safety.”
The Solution
This employee’s concerns are understandable. No staff member should be asked to violate company safety policies. Making employee safety job # 1 has implications for employee retention but also keeps businesses viable. Exit data provides a rich source of data for keeping management’s pulse on safety hazards and violations of policy. Employees trust you, as their employer, to look out for their best interest. Although some occupations come with greater health and safety hazards than others, it’s an important issue to address in every workplace. If employees don’t feel safe and secure or if they feel their health is in danger they will become frustrated and look for an employer who’s more conscious of their wellbeing.
What can you do to prevent safety issues in the workplace and ensure employees feel secure on the job?
• Develop and enforce a clearly-stated company policy defining rules and boundaries related to potentially hazardous elements of the job.
• Provide safety training and resources to employees and take steps to make sure employees are following safety best practices related to their job duties.
• Establish safety goals and rewards at three levels; company-wide, teams, and individual. Establish safety audits, safety teams, and safety benchmarks.
• Offer accurate job descriptions that specifically outline job duties and what will be expected of employees so there are no surprises.
• Make accountability a priority. “I am responsible for my safety” needs to be a way of life. Take responsibility for monitoring safety and also make employees hold one another accountable to safety rules and regulations outlined in your company policy.
• Keep communication open. Make sure employees know they can come to you at any time if they feel they are being put in a dangerous situation they shouldn’t be in.
If an employee doesn’t feel secure on the job, they will not be committed to your organization. By following the few preventative measures listed above you can begin reducing employee turnover related to workplace safety.
(This blog post brought to you by HSD Metrics, an exit interview company that helps companies reduce employee turnover by providing automated reference checking, exit interviews, and by measuring employee retention. The comments from exiting employees that are featured in this blog are collected from actual exit interviews conducted using ExitRight®, HSD’s exit interviewing service. Because we place the privacy of our clients at the top of our priority list; the names of all involved parties are kept completely confidential. Check our blog often for posts like this, to reduce employee turnover within your organization. If you are interested in learning more, contact us today.)