RAISING THE BAR OF. As Seen In March April 2018 AMERICAN STAFFING ASSOCIATION by the American Staffing Association

Transcription

1 RAISING THE BAR OF As Seen In March April by the American Staffing Association 1

2 It s been more than a year since ASA and the National Safety Council launched a comprehensive program that gives staffing companies the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to workplace safety. Here is what those who have participated in the program have to say about their experiences and how their businesses are benefitting. Last spring, Staffing Success reported on the launch of the Safety Standard of Excellence program with the goal of encouraging staffing companies to adopt workplace safety best practices and standards, and to foster and measure continuous safety improvements. Designed by ASA and the National Safety Council, the program offers staffing companies a way to engage in a richer, more meaningful dialog around safety. Participants undergo a rigorous assessment and agree to adopt a range of best practices. The program s purpose is to help reduce the rate and severity of temporary employees workplace injuries; help control staffing companies workers compensation costs; and enhance the image of the staffing industry with respect to job seekers, staffing clients, the government, and media. >>> By Adam Stone SAFETY EXCELLENCE The Safety Standard of Excellence mark is a real differentiator for your company in the competitive staffing marketplace. When your company earns the mark, you demonstrate that standards are in place to foster a safe workplace for temporary workers, that your firm is committed to worker safety, and that it is a trusted employer and business partner. More than 20 staffing companies have earned the mark in the past year. Go to americanstaffing.net/safety to see new videos, learn about lower pricing, and register for the program. americanstaffing.net 2

3 To date, more than 20 staffing companies have completed the program and earned the Safety Standard of Excellence mark and interest and participation in the program continue to grow. Staffing companies that enroll in the program show commitment to selecting and screening for safe applicants, ensuring that general safety training and orientation takes place, evaluating the work site hazards employees may be exposed to, working with clients to put necessary protections in place, and instituting collaborative incident management protocols. To date, more than 20 staffing companies have completed the program and earned the Safety Standard of Excellence mark and interest and participation in the program continue to grow. To learn more about the SSE experience and its value, Staffing Success reached out to several staffing executives whose companies have earned the mark as well as the director of workplace strategy and consulting operations at NSC. Together, they paint a picture of a robust program that is enhancing professionalism around safety issues, giving staffing companies a better assessment of their own safety practices, and strengthening their ability to guide and assist clients in this complex area. DAN STRUVE, CSP Founder, chairman, and chief executive officer, Helpmates Staffing Services How does the SSE program benefit staffing companies? I think the single biggest area of benefit that every staffing firm will get is from a contractual perspective. In the contracts between the staffing companies and their clients, the National Safety Council has direct and strong language to make it crystal clear contractually who s responsible for what. This really helps us from a contractual perspective. How do workplace conditions sometimes work against safety interests? Production managers, foremen, shift supervisors, and general managers are all pressed to produce whatever end result they re trying to produce. Sometimes they short-circuit the appropriate training for employees, particularly with new employees. They don t necessarily give them the time they need because they want to get them productive. Well, we want them productive as well, but we want them productive in a safe way. Have you seen tangible outcomes from participation in the SSE program? While we had really good results prior to participating in the program, since undergoing the assessment we have reduced our overall recordable workers compensation injuries by 23%. Several of the SSE report s recommendations, regarding the safety inspection process at the client site, have really helped us specifically around the safety training clients need to do for temporary employees. We can t say for certain [that it s directly as a result of the program], but what we do know is that we are down 23% on recordable claims that were going to represent about half a million dollars in losses, and that more than pays for the SSE process. SCOTT BICKSLER Lead safety manager, Aerotek Why did you seek the SSE mark? Aerotek staffs almost every industry. We are heavily into manufacturing, especially during hurricane recovery remediation. Earlier this year, we were in Northern California during the fires. There s a lot of inherent risk with job sites like that. At Aerotek, we are also a very feedback-driven company. Going through the Safety Standard of Excellence process provided us with some great information and tools that we can use going forward. The NSC consultants looked at the ways that we onboard employees, how we determine who the best candidate is for a specific job, making sure we re putting the right fit out there at client job sites. It was a great validation of our processes and also an opportunity to open our books and allow the SSE consultant to come in and really scrutinize what we do. What was the process like for you? We started the process in early August and earned the mark in October. We had eight separate assessments that were completed. We opened up our offices and made our personnel available. 3

4 We prepared by using the SSE portal. We knew there were some areas of weakness and we took that feedback, and now we re going to build from that feedback to make our processes and our programs even stronger. SHARON DAVIS, CSHO Occupational safety manager, Elwood Staffing Services How does safety factor into your overall business model? Safety is important because we are in the people business. We deal with mothers, fathers, brothers, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins. We want them to earn a good living, go home and be in a bowling league, play baseball, and be able to pick up their children. You can t do that if you get injured. We attribute our strong safety record and standards to establishing a corporate culture where everyone feels responsible for safety and pursues it on a daily basis. Not only do we strive to work with companies that share our ongoing commitment to safety and safe operations at all job sites, but we also incorporate safety training into every associate orientation and offer a variety of safety programs and resources to both temporary associates and client companies. How did the SSE process help improve safety for your workers? One of the things that we did that I thought was very beneficial is we had the National Safety Council come in and sit in our corporate office. We had a full day of looking at all of our policies, our procedures, and our forms. We spent a day educating them on what Elwood is all about our safety policy, procedures, our programs. I think it saved time when they got out there. They were prepared. They knew the forms to look for. They made sure that these forms were in the branch offices and that we were compliant the difference between saying We re going to do it and We re doing it. What did you learn through earning the SSE mark? What we learned from the whole process is that we re doing a lot of things right. That s a good feeling. And we also learned how to even better identify and mitigate, or even eliminate, workplace hazards and exposures, ensure clear communication, and clearly delineate responsibilities of each party. SHARON FRANEY, TSC, CSP Chief operating officer, Hamilton Ryker How does the SSE mark help you to position yourself in the marketplace? I think the main advantage is credibility. We want our industry to be known as reputable, caring about our employees, and making sure that they re coming home safe. It takes a lot of pieces to make sure that happens. ASA and NSC have worked diligently in getting input and buy-in from all parties. They designed a very holistic program. They look at your contracts, they look at your policies and procedures. The assessment and the ability to utilize the SSE mark validates that we are following the correct steps and are doing what we say we do. Our internal employees are very glad that we ve gone through this process. For them, it was a great celebration of the work that they ve done. Our clients appreciate the fact that they re working with a company that is doing things the right way, that we re helping them prevent injuries, and that we are leaders in safety. Safety is the right thing to do, but there are also business benefits. How do those play out? There are all the humanistic reasons for keeping your people safe, and there s also the branding benefit from the SSE mark. You want to be known as a respectable, trustworthy place of employment. If you re sending people out to unsafe environments or you re not properly caring for them, if there s an accident and you re not responding well, that is not going to be good for public relations and your business. Having this type of program from the National Safety Council and ASA gives you the benchmark that you should be reaching for and signifies that you are at the top of the class. AMY HARPER Director of workplace strategy and consulting operations, National Safety Council From NSC s perspective, why does the staffing industry need a safety standard? Temporary workers are put in some precarious positions. Host employers often outsource the jobs that might be costing them more for workers compensation, so they re looking to transfer some of that risk to the staffing company. >>> americanstaffing.net 4

5 Also, temporary workers are going to different employers over and over again throughout the year, and we know from our data at the National Safety Council that the risk of injury is higher at the beginning of a new job. Workers new to a job may be unfamiliar with their surroundings, may not know or have mastered the job procedures, and may be less likely to ask questions. How can this program help staffing companies? The Safety Standard of Excellence program is a way for staffing companies to raise their hand to say, I m committed to safety, and to really go under the microscope and let someone from the outside examine their operations. The program has the potential to help staffing companies reduce their losses. Workers compensation is one of the greatest expenses that staffing companies have. Looking at best practices in safety can help them reduce the number of injuries that temporary workers have, and therefore help control workers compensation costs. What message do staffing companies send to their clients by taking part in the SSE program? Host employers that look for the SSE mark know at the outset they re going to have a partner in safety. They re going to have a company that s willing to work with them and pay attention to safety issues, because it s going to benefit both parties. But the ultimate benefit of the Safety Standard of Excellence program is the potential to reduce worker injuries. The program really is aimed at protecting workers so that they go home the same way they came to work. Looking forward, the SSE program will continue to evolve, say leaders at ASA and NSC. Now that more than 20 companies have earned the mark, ASA and NSC plan to begin hosting virtual meetings for those companies as well as expand upon the wide range of safety-related resources the organizations currently provide. Learn more about the Safety Standard of Excellence program at americanstaffing.net/safety. n Adam Stone, a freelance writer based in Annapolis, MD, is a regular contributor to Staffing Success. Send feedback on this article to success@americanstaffing.net. Engage with ASA on social media go to americanstaffing.net/social. ASA webinars deliver HIGH-LEVEL LEARNING especially for STAFFING AND RECRUITING professionals! GO TO americanstaffing.net/webinars. DID YOU KNOW? ASA WEBINARS 5 Are FREE for ASA member companies Are accessible on your smartphone or tablet Cover a wide range of relevant topics, including sector-specific content Provide continuing education hours toward maintaining your ASA credential