When you’re a company manager or a leader, you bear the responsibility of protecting your employees. This isn’t an easy task to accomplish by any means – not even if your business is mainly office-centered and it doesn’t require any fieldwork. But in case your workers need to go out every day in order to perform their job duties, things get so much more complicated.
How do you protect the employees who work remotely, other than relying on their skills, sheer luck and hope that nothing bad will happen to them? These ’safety measures’ are, of course, insufficient. The workers rely on your ability to protect them in potentially dangerous situations – and rightfully so. We give you 5 tips on how not to let them down in those crucial moments.
1. Provide Proper Training and Educate Them About Possible Risks
Day in and day out, there are numerous situations in which your lone workers are facing potential risks. Although the nature of their call is such that they’re already prepared for life-threatening and hazardous circumstances, you can always make sure that they’re properly trained and educated about all the things that they can do in order to protect themselves if the position requires them to react in a certain way.
They should be constantly reminded of the life-saving measures and routines that they need to carry out in case something unpredictable happens. Knowing how to deal with different things, like falls, various accidents, physical attacks or even criminal violence is a must for any lone worker out there.
2. Mandatory Safety Equipment
This part could also belong in the aforementioned passage, but unfortunately sometimes educating employees isn’t enough. That’s the main reason why you need to clearly state that wearing safety equipment is obligatory. In some instances, the workers get too comfortable and disregard the safety equipment which can potentially save their life. In case you notice this kind of behavior, you need to address it immediately. Do everything that’s in your power to discourage this type of unprofessional conduct.
It’s not just their lives that are on the line, but they are also putting others in danger and they are eventually hurting the company’s image as well.
3. Good Connectivity and Communication Is Key
If you have employees doing terrain work all by themselves, you already know how crucial good connectivity and communication is. Devices like mobile phones make things a lot easier than they were before in this regard, but they are still not perfect in many instances.
For example, if your lone worker has to carry gloves at all times, how is she or he going to use the phone? Or, in case they experience a severe injury and can’t make a call? That’s why organizations like National Health Australia are providing the lone workers with specialized alarm that sends the signal if anything bad, wrong or suspicious happens.
4. Check Your Employees Whenever Possible
Make sure that your lone workers regularly update their statuses and positions. Even if there’s a check-in procedure that everyone needs to follow, be extra careful and cautious with the employees who are far away from the office.
Accidents lurk behind every corner, so you need to know exactly at all times what are the destinations for the day, estimated arrival and return times, etc.
5. Show Your Employees That You Really Care for Them
All these things that we’ve mentioned should give a clear indication to your employees that they can rely on you and that they won’t be left alone when the going gets tough.
If necessary, provide them with additional professional support, like psychological counseling, for example. These types of jobs require tough nerves often times, and even the strongest among ourselves can break. Have your employees’ backs at all times, by helping them deal with the stress that this line of work often brings.
Conclusion
We gave you some simple tips on how to protect your lone workers in potentially dangerous and life-threatening situations. Make sure to follow these steps and give your employees the confidence that they’ll be alright no matter what the future brings.