Keeping Your Staff Safe

As a manager or small business owner, one of your key responsibilities is to your staff. You have a responsibility to ensure that they receive fair treatment and pay. To ensure that they are happy at work and that their needs are being met. You are responsible for finding the right liability insurance and making sure your staff can take time off when they need it. Most of all, it’s your responsibility to make sure they are kept safe while they are at work.

How you keep your staff safe, and the precautions that you have to take will depend on what you do, the space that you work in, and the nature of your work itself. Staff members that spend their days in factories or warehouses will have different needs to those that spend their day at a desk. Those that work with the public will need different protections to those that work alone. But, there are some universal ways to keep your team safe. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are essential. Spend time preparing risk assessment templates. Go around your business and note down anything that could pose a risk, however small that risk might be. Ask yourself how this risk could be minimised and if there is anything that you could do remove it entirely. Then, ask if your staff require any special training around this risk.

Every time you employ a new member of staff, take them through risk assessments. Have separate templates for pregnant employees and those that need further protection, and do them when you need to.

Training

Risk assessments highlight some of the training that your staff need. But, it’s your responsibility to train them when they start, and then update and refresh this training when it’s required. Teach them how to protect themselves by training them on machinery, company policy and methods.

Equipment Repair and Maintenance

Damaged machinery can be dangerous. It can increase risk and be unpredictable. If you have drivers, small things like Trailer Brakes can cause big problems. Make sure all of your equipment is serviced at least once a year. If something breaks, get it fixed as soon as possible and take it out of use until them. The rest of the time, make sure everything is kept clean, well looked after and correctly used to help you to keep your staff safe and protected, as well as saving your money on future repairs.

Open Communication

Open communication is an important, and yet simple way to keep your staff safe. It’ll also help you to improve your processes, build positive working relationships and boost morale. Encourage your team to speak to you about their needs, and to tell you if there’s a problem or they feel unsafe in the workplace. Keep communications open, check in on them and ask them for regular feedback.

Keep it Clean and Tidy

Keeping your workspace clean, tidy and free of clutter is an easy way to improve safety. Encourage your team to clean on the go, and to pick up after themselves, and you’ll all be much safer.

Taking The Right Steps When It Comes To Manufacturing…

Starting a business is not easy. Sure you have the passion and knowledge for the business area you are going into, but running your business requires more than just product knowledge. You need to know how to market your product, bring it to retail and to start the customer relationship from the beginning to finalise the sale and getting more business off the back of it. However, once you handle the basics of your business you then may look at ways to improve it, and one of them could be the decision to start manufacturing your own products rather than outsourcing. There are some huge advantages to this, you can make a saving on the costs involved by keeping it in-house, and you can also have more control over it. However, getting started may seem like a huge step so here are some of the things that you can consider to ensure that you take the right steps.

Think about the production line

When it comes to the production line of your product you do need to cover every aspect. Every component needs to be either hand done or have a machine in place to put it together, and you also need to factor in the timescale it will take. There will be smaller elements such as the nylon tube that is used in food production lines, to intricate small parts needing to be pieced together. It will be different for every business, but once you finalise the details you will have a better idea of the scope, how long it takes and also the scale in which you can produce your item.

Where will you do it?

Many businesses start from home and do so for a long time, but deciding on manufacturing your own products may mean that you need to scale up your business empire. This could mean that you now need to consider a business location in orde tot house the machines and additional staff to produce your products Furthermore, you will also need to take into account the logistics. Your product needs to be able to reach outlets and shops, or to be distributed out directly to customers. Good transport links will be an essential plus point when finding the right place.

Health and safety

When it comes to producing your own products, you need to factor in that there will be more staff that are under your responsibility and leadership. This could be on a bigger scale than before, and whether they manually make your products or use machines to help create them, you will need to take into account your healthy and safety procedures. Regular risk assessments will need to take place to ensure that you can take care of the staff you employ to do this job.

The benefits

Of course, with this change can come big benefits. The cost saving from having to outsource it, the additional shipping costs you may have faced, the added time you will now lose, and also having more control over the product and how it is produced. All of which can be used as additional sales tools to help publicise and make your product even more successful.

Let’s hope this has given you food for thought when it comes to manufacturing your own products in the future.

Life Changing Decisions For Your Business

Yes, we are referring to your business as having a life, but technically we think it does. You’re having to do so many different things on a daily business to try and keep this special life alive. What’s more, this huge life is feeding your life, so it’s not like it’s something you can just stop caring for at the drop of a hat. Do so, and you’ll soon watch your business fall. So, we think there are some life changing business decisions that you should be making to alter the course that you’re on at the minute. If you feel like the path your business is taking at the minute is a path to greatness, then the ideas we’re going to give you are only going to push you towards that. If you feel like your business might have lost its way a little, then fear not, the tips we’ve got today for you should also help you along your way! Keep on reading, and see if we can help your business just that little bit more!

A Big Business Move

A big business move is definitely worth taking if you feel like you haven’t made one just yet, and the move we’re going to suggest for you actually involves your business going through a big move. So, think about the location you’re in and what it might be offering you at the minute. Is it offering you full exposure, or do you feel like you’re still a bit of a keyboard warrior that people never actually put a face to a name with. There’s only so far you can go as a digital business by just selling yourself digitally, you have to get in with the thick of it, which is why we think moving to a big city office is perfect. If you have the funds, you could even have your own funky place built for you. If you checked out Retracom, you could move into one of their portable business sites whilst something is being built for you, and have it close to the location so you can check on things as and when needed. Having your own place built attracts big attention, especially in a city. It also allows you to have something custom made that is going to suit both you, and your business.

Altering The Course You’re On

The course you’re on might be fine for you at the minute, but what’s to say that there’s not something better out there for you? We think that to alter the course that you’re on, you need to be able to think outside of the box. You have to have that creative flare that your business is missing at the minute, and do something bold like introducing a new service or product. It’s the best thing you can do if you feel like there’s only one path your business is taking at the minute, purely because you’re limited with what you sell! Just make sure you talk to plenty of advisors so that you know for sure you’re making the right decision.