Does your company have an effective way to communicate safety awareness to employees? How do employees learn about new safety trends, new guidelines, the results of company wide safety assessments and any safety incidences within the workforce? Do your employees have a way of contributing to the safety culture by giving safety suggestions or asking safety related questions? If your answer was “no” a safety newsletter might be the perfect solution for you.
In an article entitled “The Safety Newsletter: Making Safety Communications Part of Everyday Life,” Dennis Burks discusses the value of a quarterly safety newsletter. He says that not only has there been a lot of positive feedback and valuable information contributed to the safety office since starting the distribution of the letters, but increases in safety training, local meeting attendance and the usage of the companies safety manuals have increased. Employees are taking a bigger responsibility for their own, and others, safety.
He suggested 3 important tips for a successful newsletter:
1.) Provide digital access: Handing out a physical newsletter is important, but giving employees a way to always access current and archived newsletters is essential. Paper copies may get lost or damaged, but accessing electronic copies gives employees a way to always stay on top of the latest trends. I think that providing an electronic means of contributing to the newsletter may also be important. Employees could simply send an email or submit a form in order to make a suggestion or ask a question.
2.) Develop a template that works for your company: A template will ensure that the newsletters always look professional and consistent. They keep text, graph information and pictures organized and easy to read.
3.) Distribute the newsletter to only a focused audience: Keep your safety newsletter focused specifically to a group of people that are exposed to serious accidents in the work place. Be sure to update this list frequently with employee changes. I think that it maybe beneficial to provide digital access company wide as well. This would give everyone important safety information but would save on paper distribution by only handing out physical copies to those most affected by safety.
I think quarterly safety newsletters are a simple way to get employees involved in safety and to keep communication lines open and make safety a current important topic among employees. Using resources like safety blogs and white papers can also help keep companies involved in safety trends. SLIPNOT’s website provides not only essential information on high quality non slip products, but also information on what’s going on in the world of safety. Important links to safety organizations and requirements as well as everyday solutions to slippery problems are provided.
Burks, Dennis. “The Safety Newsletter: Making Safety Communications Part of Everyday Life.” www.ehstoday.com June 4, 2013. July 15, 2013. http://ehstoday.com/safety/safety-newsletter-making-safety-communications-part-everyday-life
