Family-Owned Funeral Home Do to Be Proactive

¶ … family-Owned funeral home do to be proactive with regard to safety management?

The key to being proactive is to be attentive to the work environment and possible hazard areas. It is of paramount importance for any business owner to examine the working environment of the business and establish what areas and activities are at high risk of having an accident. Once the key accident-risk areas have been identified, steps can be taken to minimize the dangers, either by changing the dangerous element of the environment or developing an alternate method that incurs less risk of injury to the employees. For example, heavy lifting is often a duty that comes up at a funeral home, therefore heavy-lifting belts could be provided to employees to reduce the risk of back injury. If the owner can afford to invest in the equipment, machines can be used in place of manpower wherever possible, reducing the risk even further. If the business owner(s) are unsure as to what consitutes hazardous working conditions, or would like a professional outside opinion, they can have an expert from the insurance company due an evaluation of the working conditions, which is a service most insurers will provide for free.

Family-owned businesses can also be proactive by educating their employees on proper safety precautions. The knowledge of proper lifting techniqiues can help eliminate injuries, to draw upon the previous example. If the business does not have official safety protocols in place, which is more common in small businesses, then they can be drawn up and written explicitly based upon the evaluation of the work environment. This provides additional incentive to the owners for having the evaluation and recognizing hazardous areas in the workplace.

The other advantage to continuing to train and educate the staff is that they cannot claim negligence if an injury does take place. By being proactive in this manner, family-owned funeral homes can better protect themselves from bankruptcy due to expensive law suits.

In your opinion, what can HR managers do to reduce workers' compensation costs?

HR managers can reduce workers' compensation costs by implementing comprehensive safety initiatives in the workplace. Structured and consistent saftey programs must be created and updated regularly, which will aid in lowering accident rates at the company.

These programs must address a variety of issues. Employees must be instructed in proper safety compliance- continung education and training leads to a well-informed staff that is alert to safety risks. New equipment must be installed to reduce manual labor, and the accompanying risk of injury. Old accident reports can be surveyed to try to identify patterns in accidents, to better understand high-risk areas. Incentive programs can be used to encourage an injury-free environment by giving out rewards or bonuses for specific time periods when no accidents happen. Incentives can also be given to employees who proactively point out problem areas and provide solutions to them.

Companies can also hire a safety director to oversee the continuing education and training of the employees in good saftey practices. While some companies may not see the need to devote a full-time staff member to safety, the benefits over the long-term can far outweigh the additional payroll expense. For instance, if the safety director can avoid even one costly law suit, then the cost is justified. Just as with the small businesses, larger companies can benefit from having an expert from the insurance company do an evaluation of the working environment.

How can HR influence senior management to implement safety and health programs?

Since the costs of workers' compensation is becoming prohibitive, it is in the best interests of the company to maintain a safe working environment for its employees. Companies can save money on their insurance costs by having fewer accidents. When senior management recognizes the bottom-line benefits of increased workplace safety, they will undoubtedly push for proactive measures to esnure those benefits for the company.

This will have the added effect of boosting morale. Employees will get the sense that the company cares about their well-being as people. This increase in morale and good will towards the company can reduce the number of fraudulent claims for workers' compensation. This will in turn reduce the corresponding costs of the insurance. By providing a positive and safe environment for the employees, the company improves its own image in the eyes of the staff as well as the shareholders.