Top tips for getting your business’ health and safety ready for winter

If you’re looking at how you tackle Health and Safety risks in your business, these are a few of the benefits of outsourcing Health & Safety. You could add Health and Safety responsibilities to an existing employee, hire a dedicated Health and Safety Manager or you could outsource your Health and Safety activity to a team of professionals.

There are lots of benefits to outsourcing Health and Safety, some of which you may not have considered. In this article, we’ll tell you why outsourcing your Health and Safety could be the best route for you.

• It reduces operational costs
• It provides more flexibility
• It increases efficiencies
• It reduces risk
• It helps improve reputation
• It brings a fresh approach

It reduces operational costs

Cost is likely to be the main driver in your decision-making. One of the benefits of outsourcing your Health and Safety is that you get a team of experts with years of experience across multiple sectors on-hand to support you at a minimal cost.

So, whilst you may see that this is an upfront cost it will actually reduce your operational costs over the longer term.

It provides more flexibility

By outsourcing Health and Safety you’re signing up for 24/7 support. So, no matter what issue you’re facing the team will be there to guide you through. This flexibility allows you to call on their services as and when you need them and for many small businesses this is enough.

But when legislation does change, you’ll get that dedicated service you need quickly and effectively. You’ll be able to rely on your consultant to let you know what has changed, how it affects your business, and consequently what documents and processes will need to change to reflect it.

It increases efficiencies

Health and Safety risk is likely to play on your mind if you haven’t got it sorted – there’s a lot to consider from devising policies to getting those policies embedded in your business operations. To act in line with legislation you can count on your consultant or adviser to audit your site, make recommendations and provide you with an actionable plan that will allow you to get on top of anything that’s missing. With that in hand, you can then focus your energy on delivering your product or service and delighting your customers.

It reduces risk

Managing risk is crucial. As a business owner, you have a responsibility to manage any risks your business presents, this includes to your staff and members of the public.

One of the major benefits of outsourcing your health and safety is that it reduces risk. Actively managing your risk will allow you to gain clarity on real health and safety issues. Consultants will be able to guide you through the relevant risk assessments and work with you to reduce the risk of non-compliance.

It means that you’re not placing this responsibility with people within your business that do not have the background or expertise to deal with Health and Safety in a legal and compliant way.

Getting it wrong can be costly, the average fine by the HSE in 2020/1 was £145,000, and many small businesses wouldn’t survive if they incurred this cost.

It helps improve reputation

Being able to demonstrate you’re taking Health and Safety seriously helps improve your reputation. By making Health and Safety central to the culture of your business, you’re showing you’re a responsible employer who values the safety and security of its staff. Plus, customers are more likely to want to do business with you knowing that Health and Safety is central to how you operate.

It brings a fresh perspective

One of the major benefits of outsourcing your Health and Safety is that it brings a fresh perspective. With a consultant you’re gaining years of experience across many sectors – there won’t be many things a consultant hasn’t seen!

So, with all this experience behind them, they’ll be able to offer an unbiased independent view that won’t be masked by how things are currently done. You’ll gain so much from them seeing the bigger picture and offering solutions to problems that you may have never thought of. They will also have the business’s best interests at heart and so will always remain objective.

Why choose SafeWorkforce?

At SafeWorkforce we’re able to offer you an outsourcing service for your Health and Safety risk.

So, why choose SafeWorkforce? Well, you’ll gain access to a team of consultants and advisers who are available face to face, email and over the phone 24/7.

They will be able to offer you support and advice

• Health and Safety Policy
• Risk Assessments
• Method Statements
• On-site audits and action plan
• Incidents and accidents
• Support with tenders and accreditations (Click here to find out how to create winning tender application)

No matter where you are on your Health and Safety journey we’re here to keep you moving. Click here to read some frequently asked questions about health and safety.