Tips To Keep Your Temporary Employees Safe At Work
Temporary workers require safe workplaces just like their permanent counterparts. Unfortunately, not every employer understands how to keep such workers safe, and workplace injuries hurt both employers and employees. Below are some tips for your temporary workers' safety.
Use Thorough Job Descriptions
Temporary workers tend to perform many duties, including those that aren't in their job descriptions. Such diversification means temporary workers are likely to find themselves doing tasks for which they aren't equipped. Unfortunately, anyone doing something for which they aren't qualified faces a high risk of injury.
For example, using a general cleaner to spay herbicides on crops can lead to injuries. Use thorough job descriptions in your recruitment drives to minimize that risk. Such job descriptions ensure all your recruits are equipped for their tasks.
Conduct Background Checks
Don't just rely on job descriptions. Use background checks to confirm that your employees are who they say they are. For example, a potential employee might claim experience in a difficult task so that you will hire them. Confirm their claims with their references or via other ways before recruitment.
Consider Staffing Agencies or Referrals
Experienced recruitment agencies know how to vet employees - that is their job. Consider outsourcing your recruitment to referral agencies, especially if you don't have adequate workers' recruitment experience. Ensure your requirements are clear so that the agencies can help you get the right people. Another option is to ask for referrals from others in the same industry.
Provide Relevant Training
Provide relevant task and safety training for all your workers. Don't neglect your temporary workers simply because they won't be with you permanently. Their level of training should depend on:
- The risks of the job
- The employee's training
- The employee's experience
However, every employee should receive some general safety training. Some employers also benefit from an initial walkthrough of the tasks, which helps new employees to appreciate the difficulties or dangers of the tasks you expect of them.
Address Site Hazards
Apart from your employee's actions, the site or workplace can also contribute to employee accidents. Site danger is even greater for temporary employees working on areas or places that remain neglected the rest of the year.
For example, a store that remains closed off-season might have cracked floors, dangerously stacked boxes, or frayed electrical wiring. Inspect and repair any dangers on your site before the season commences.
Encourage Teamwork
Teamwork encourages employee safety in three main ways. Teamwork means that inexperienced employees won't work separately from their experienced counterparts. The experienced employees can help the inexperienced ones. Teamwork also eliminates isolation. Isolation is dangerous because someone might not notice an employee in distress in time.
Provide Safety Gear
Don't let your temporary employees work without relevant safety gear. Providing safety gear is nota worthless investment, even if you won't use the equipment all year round. A single injury can cost you thousands of dollars plus other nonmonetary losses (such as damage to your business image). Ensure everyone has the protection for their jobs to avoid such losses.
Hire Adequate Numbers
Lastly, you should have the right staffing levels. Understaffing your company will overwork your employees, and exhaustion increases the risk of an accident. Not only that, but exhaustion also reduces productivity. Thus, understaffing won't save you much in the long run.
Hopefully, the above tips will help you keep your employees safe and minimize worker's compensation claims. However, you cannot rule out the risk of injuries among your temporary employees. The Policy Center Inc. can provide you with worker's compensation coverage for such risks.
Contact us for a quote, and we will help you protect your business and employees.
