Workplace turnover is historically high across construction, manufacturing, and warehousing industries. Depending on the region, and type of operation, turnover rates are exceeding 25% – 68% annually. As construction safety consultants with regional expertise across NY, CT, RI, MA, and VT, Capital Safety Services safety consultants see it regularly.
Turnover can lead to a wide range of safety challenges. As a first step in addressing the issue, it’s important to understand the difference between building a safety program vs. building a safety culture. In short, building a safety program primarily focuses on establishing the structural rules. Safety culture, on the other hand is about shaping the shared beliefs and behaviors of everyone in the organization.
Why Employee Turnover Is a Safety Risk
Our construction safety consultant team sees it all of time – when employees leave, they take their institutional safety knowledge with them. As a result, knowledge that has been built up over time, specific to the organization’s ways of working, now need to be re-taught.
When turnover happens at the supervisory and project management level, safety mentoring also goes away.
New employees are often unfamiliar with the equipment and procedures of a new company and project. They are also likely to be unfamiliar with certain potential hazards. As a result, when a new employee arrives, there is a greater chance of safety incidents occurring.
Make Safety Part of Day-One Onboarding
Organizations that are focused on safety understand it must be treated as a priority. Introducing a safety checklist on day-one is a good way to help communicate the level of importance the organization places on maintaining a safe work environment.
Day one is a good time to introduce company and site-specific expectations. Our construction safety consultants will tell you that each job poses their own unique safety hazards. High-risk work permits, PPE requirements and specialized tools & equipment vary between jobsites. Introducing safety protocol on the first day helps educate new workers right off the bat, and sets the tone that safety is as a key tenet.
Develop Safety Leaders at Every Level
By putting ownership of safety protocol on all employees, you widen the field of workers that take the responsibilities seriously, and lower your risk of having gaps in knowledge when employees leave.
Our construction safety consultants encourage the development of peer mentoring programs. This is a great way for workers to grab the reigns and advocate for compliance without always requiring oversight from management.
Create Clear and Repeatable Procedures
The easier your safety protocol is to administer and understand, the easier and faster it will be for workers to adapt. When the workforce is turning over, quick adoption is important.
Start by developing clear, concise written standard operating procedures (SOPs). And create and post and/or handout visual work instructions. A highly visual, step-by-step guide that use photos and diagrams will be easier and faster for workers to absorb than dense written text.
Use Ongoing Safety Training
Ongoing safety training helps to reinforce expectations, brings new employees up to speed faster, and provides a collective knowledge base that can result in a team that is less impacted when an employee leaves. You can also tailor training by role and review seasonal safety topics to ensure constant and up-to-date engagement across the organization.
Keep Leadership Visible & Engaged
When safety protocol is primarily championed and administered by individual employees it can quickly erode during turnover. Visible leadership helps prevent this by providing a consistent source of accountability and reinforcement. When Managers and Supervisors actively participate in safety meetings, conduct site observations, discuss hazards, and demonstrate safe behaviors, they communicate that safety is a core company value
The Value of a Construction Safety Consultant
When looking to take on a challenge as significant as maintaining your safety culture amidst high turnover, a seasoned construction safety consultant can be a valuable investment.
Construction safety consultants can identify gaps in existing safety programs. They do so by performing safety audits, conducting thorough site assessments, and implementing compliance reviews.
Construction safety consultants can also develop sustainable systems and provide expert safety training. And they can provide valuable on-site OSHA training, site- specific training, and supervisor development programs, among other initiatives.
At Capital Safety Systems our construction safety consultants, and consultants for manufacturing and industrial safety, are trained with the latest strategies to help your organization build a safety culture that thrives despite the challenges of employee turnover. Reach out to our team for more information.