5 Signs Your Safety Culture Costs Your Company Money

What are the signs that your safety culture costs your company money?

Improving safety makes business sense, and more companies are starting to pay attention to a poor safety culture’s direct and indirect costs.

Consider the following: if any of these resonate with you, you should make time to strategise areas of improvement and invest in improving your safety culture. Your company, and your people, are worth the investment.

1  ~ You are disqualified from a tender or request for a quote (RFQ) because of your safety statistics.

Safety statistics may seem archaic to judge a company, and we will cover that topic soon. However, we need to include these metrics in RFQs and tenders.

What if your safety culture is disqualifying you before you even get a chance to make the shortlist?

Your safety statistics should be a fair and honest reflection of your safety culture. If your statistics are not reflecting the picture you hoped for, then your safety culture costs you when bidding. We all know that winning new business is the only way to success, and the good news is that improving your safety culture will enhance your potential for winning bids.

2 ~ You receive claims, or fines,  from clients for safety infringements.

Margins on projects are tight, and few companies can afford to receive claims, or fines, that eat away at profitability. If you have to compensate clients because of safety infringements, your safety culture costs you money that could be invested in your people and business.

3 ~ Your direct and indirect costs related to safety have escalated

You have project delays or shut-downs because of a safety-related incident. Your insurance premiums, medical claims, time off, and overtime increase.

There may be a drive for profitability, and when this leads to rushed jobs, shortcuts, and inferior PPE or equipment, it is possible that long-term costs will far outweigh the short-term benefits.

4 ~ You have been given notice from a client to improve your safety culture.

Being at the top of your game brings success and sustainability to your business. High-hazard / safety-critical organisations consider safety as a non-negotiable for contractors. If you have received a warning or a notice of contract termination stating safety issues and concerns as the primary reason, then the sustainability of your business is in question. Not only could an incident harm someone or the environment, but your company's reputation is at stake. A poor safety culture can impact your profitability as well as your reputation. Understanding how your leadership team deal with safety concerns and expectations before they become a problem may be the difference between success and failure.

5 ~ Your quality is not what it should be, and your bottom line is shrinking.

Safety and quality are integral parts of business success. When there is a poor safety culture, there are often quality issues, re-works, failures and unhappy clients. A strong safety culture improves all areas of your business.

Do you know the bottom line of what your safety culture costs your company? 

If not, consider investing in understanding how your safety culture is affecting your bottom line; you may be unpleasantly surprised! By understanding the actual cost of a poor safety culture, you can see how much you could potentially save your company by taking action.

This exercise will help you know how much money your safety culture costs you and is the first step to improving. The next step is to understand what you can do to create a safety culture that will make you, your team and your clients proud.

Safety Collaborations can help you understand your current picture, align with your safety culture vision and start you on the journey to making safety part of your DNA.

The key to kicking off a robust safety culture change program requires alignment and buy-in from the organisation's top leadership team.

What constitutes an alignment session?

The choice is yours. Book a Call and start your journey to make Safety Part of Your DNA and improve your bottom line.