Hiring for Safety – It Starts with a Safe Workplace

A safe workplace starts with management, who should support a culture of safety and provide the resources necessary for injury prevention. The responsibilities filter down through all levels of an organization and every employee should take ownership in their workplace. Safety cannot stand alone or remain separate from the main objectives of the organization — it must become an integral part of day-to-day operations. When injury prevention is taken into consideration as part of the “bottom line,” everyone wins.

Depending on the size and complexity of an organization, most great safety and health programs contain these essential elements:

• Manager leadership and commitment
• Employee participation
• Hazard identification and control
• Information and training
• Program evaluation

There are many pieces that make up a quality workplace safety program and every employee plays a key role. At the same time, policies and procedures are critical to support and guide workers as they undertake their work each day.