Building a Stronger Safety Culture With Technology
Leveraging Predictive Technology to Enhance Employee Safety, Boost Job Satisfaction, and Reduce Costs
Keeping workers safe makes more sense than dealing with injuries as they happen. Workers want to be safe, and organizations benefit from a strong safety culture. Historically, safety has fallen to the bottom of the priority list, but that is changing rapidly.
New technologies offer the opportunity for companies to create programs that are predictive rather than reactive, to engage employees, provide better communication, and to put everything together on one platform.
Safety as a Recruitment and Retention Tool
Although companies are often resistant to budgeting for safety, it’s a sure way to improve the bottom line for several reasons. Recently, a major plastics company conducted a survey examining how workers experience workplace safety, and some of the results may be surprising.
Workers want safe workplaces, to the extent that nearly half (48%) say they would take a pay cut for better safety. The results included other interesting statistics related to workers and safety:
- 82% of all workers say a strong safety culture is a key to job satisfaction
- 80% consider safety a very important or important factor in considering a new job
- 39% would reject a job offer based on safety concerns
- 76% want better communication from employers about safety
- 60% say employers are making the same or less effort to drive safety as last year
In other words, employees want safety to be an integral part of their work. Recruiting and retaining employees is expensive, but investing in safety is one way to attract and keep talented workers—and it’s necessary to remain compliant with regulations so it’s not a new investment.
Fewer Injuries = Lower Costs
In addition to lowering the cost of recruiting and retaining workers, a strong culture of safety also reduces the number of injuries which leads to significant savings when it comes to workers’ compensation premiums. A study by Harvard Business Review found the following:
“Our 2023 analysis of 32,061 construction sites across New York City found that mandatory safety training reduces work injury rates by 15% to 18%, delivering $18 million in annual savings and a 42% return on investment.”
Workers want safety, and safety training lowers the number of injuries leading directly to concrete savings, and most business leaders say that safety is a core value, yet HBR found some troubling statistics in a survey of 76 executives:
- Only 17% make safety part of their strategy
- 35% monitor even one safety metric
- 4% link safety to employee incentives or accountability
- None had evidence linking safety to KPIs
The gap between aspirational safety goals and actually creating a culture of safety creates problems for workers and negatively impacts the bottom line. Success lies in getting all stakeholders bought into the program, and culture can be created by a team all feeling like they are all pulling together towards a common goal. By demonstrating a commitment to safety to their workers, and providing key data to executives and decision-makers, organizations can make big strides in culture creation.
New Technology to Improve Safety Culture
For the last 100 years, technology has reshaped how we live again and again. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the next big wave, and when it comes to workplace safety, AI has plenty to offer. Until very recently, data about safety always arrived after the fact. Company leaders can see when, where, and how accidents happened only after the damage had been done. AI makes it possible to more accurately predict when and where accidents are likely to happen in the future. In the workplace, musculoskeletal injuries are often caused by awkward postures, excessive physical effort, and repetitive motions. Advancements in computer vision and predictive analytics allow companies to easily assess risk, carry out targeted safety interventions, and provide employee education where it’s going to make the biggest difference. One of the reasons that leaders may hesitate to invest in safety is that it can seem nebulous, but when programs are tailored and targeted, the benefits are much clearer. With the right technology, employees that need to understand how to avoid repetitive stress injuries can get specific training on ergonomics or complete task specific strength programs.
Amp Health Can Help
Amp Health recognizes the culture building opportunities that technology provides. Our intuitive platform equips employers and injury prevention specialists with the tools they need to educate employees, monitor progress, identify risks, and prevent injuries, while engaging employees in their own health and safety journey. We are always happy to answer your questions and show you how our technology can improve safety for your workforce.