Keeping Employees Safe at Work

There are many different types of jobs. Some of them involve hard physical labor, while others rely on the use of mostly brain power. However, each setting has conditions that you are a business owner must meet in order to keep your employees safe from harm. 

Possible Hazards 

Unfortunately, it only takes a minute of carelessness for someone to receive a serious injury on the job. As an owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure that you do everything in your power to create an environment that promotes safety first. Otherwise, one of your employees may sustain a serious bodily injury where they not only need time off to recover but may also contact a slip and fall attorney to bring about a fair settlement. 

Building Interior 

A building office may seem innocent enough. However, the interior can have many flaws that can create an unsafe environment. For instance, mats placed in entryways if not secure can buckle up and cause someone to trip and fall. The same scenario can play out with slippery stairs or even a spilled cup of coffee. The good news is that all of these examples are preventable. If you have stairs indoors or leading into the office, maintaining them and adding rubber grips will give your feet a strong footing. In the case of liquids on the floor, teach employees about cleaning up after themselves. And, with the loose rugs, adding a backing or using only commercial-grade, heavy-duty rubber mats will keep them secure and flat.   

Safety Gear 

Every business has different needs when it comes to the required gear. For instance, if your own a construction business and you employ workers who perform tasks at various job sites, it’s important that they wear safety gear which includes a hard hat and steel toe shoes. Firefighters also where specialty hats and their work attire for calls is a fire-resistant suit. And, if you work with chemicals your employees should always wear special gloves, a smock, and their safety goggles. 

Healthy Indoor Environment 

Other types of businesses such as hospitals and nursing homes that come in direct contact with people wear uniforms, gloves, and caps on their heads to prevent the spread of germs to their patients and other patients, and employees, as well as themselves. In the food service industry, food contamination can bring on a sudden outbreak or an illness. This is why these types of professions provide various types of uniforms for their staff that remain at the job. They also wear commercial-grade gloves, safety nets, and non-slip shoes.   

Other Safety Measures 

Other types of accidents can happen in the workplace that is beyond your control like a sudden fire in the building. In this instance, having portable fire extinguishers located every so many square feet, to meet state regulations, can help to contain a fire and prevent it from turning into a major, possibly life-threatening event. Your staff should also know exactly where all of the building exits are located in the events that some exits become useless. Practicing unexpected fire drills a few times throughout the year will help to save lives.   

Employee Training 

Regardless of the type of business you own, employee safety is something that you should practice. One way to make sure that employees always follow protocol is to have periodic meetings that focus solely on safety in the workplace. Often, if owners promote awareness to their staff, the employees will take notice and be much more careful. 

Your employees are an essential component of your company’s success. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to expand your business and improve your wealth. As such, you should take the necessary steps to promote safety on the job. 

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/at-work/keeping-employees-safe-at-work/

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How to Make it in the Legal Profession

There are a lot of different things that can attract people towards a career in the legal profession.

Some are drawn by the allure of a relatively high paying professional job, whereas others are driven by a desire to help people. With so many different fields of law out there, it’s impossible to pin down any blanket motives.

However, one thing that does unite those that make it in the legal profession is tenacity. In order to succeed as a lawyer, it is imperative that attorneys develop a thick skin and steely determination.

Succeeding as a lawyer will not be easy, but there are some things you can do that will give you the best chance of success.

Solo, Partner or Firm?

One of the first major decisions that you will need to make when you enter into the legal profession is exactly how you will sell your services. You can choose to go it alone, looking for clients and taking on work directly.

Alternatively, you can find another like-minded lawyer or lawyers and form a partnership. Or, finally, you can join an existing firm as a junior attorney and work your way up the ladder.

Each approach has its own merits and drawbacks; it is up to you to choose the one that suits you the best.

Make sure that you carefully investigate each option before you commit yourself to a particular path–you’ll be in it for the long-haul once you have made your decision.

Work Your Niche

It is much better to become experienced and proficient in one area of law before branching out later on in your career.

Focusing on one branch, in particular, whether you’re a car accident lawyer in Las Vegas or a copyright lawyer in New York, will enable you to hone and refine your skills, which ultimately means you can charge more for your services.

Choosing a niche that you are passionate and knowledgeable about will also greatly improve your job satisfaction.

It’s always better to do a job that you genuinely care about and which excites you, that is how you will produce your best work, regardless of what job you are doing.

Get Active Locally

The better your relationship with the local community, the easier it will be for you to get your business off the ground. Winning over the opinion of the locals will make it much easier to tap into your most important market.

If you are able to offer your services to local charities, schools, hospitals, or other businesses and entities then you should do so. Consider providing services at a reduced rate if they will be generating a substantial amount of good publicity for you.

Foster Long Term Relationships

The more contacts you have, and the more inclined they are to work with you, the easier you will find it to navigate the choppy waters of being a startup business.

When it comes to your relationships with other businesses and people, you should always be considering the long game.

If you start things on the right foot, you have every chance of making it in the legal profession. You will need a tough skin and a resilient nature, but if you can recognize opportunities when they come your way, you will go far.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/law-and-order/how-to-make-it-in-the-legal-profession/

Improve Work Communication in Small Businesses Without Spending A Fortune

It doesn’t matter if you’re a small or large company, you must have amazing employee communication to succeed, whether your employees work on the same floor or are scattered globally. Effective communication has a direct impact on your company’s success.

However, don’t get confused because communication is way more than just distributing information. So what is internal communication, really?

It’s a continuous dialogue with the company and its employees, regardless of position or time in the company – internal communication creates a healthy community.

After all, a whopping 50% of employees reported that when bosses shared information and data, they were far more productive and motivated.

If that’s not enough to convince you that communication is essential for business, one-third of employees say that the ability to collaborate makes them more loyal to the company.

Benefits of Great Employee Communication

So what are the benefits of great employee communication and how can you embed it at your company?

• Quick and easy. Connecting and reaching a workforce that is mainly under the age of 35 means dealing with people who feel “the need for instant gratification” and the “loss of patience,” a study found.
  
  People just don’t want to wait for a website or video to load, let alone wait for a colleague to reply to a message.

Communication in the workplace has to follow suit, meaning- say goodbye to emails and increase your reply time. Don’t just send a message here and there, deliver consistent, up-to-date communication to energize employees.

• Build trust with employees. By involving all your employees and not neglecting anyone, you are maintaining a connection which leads to increased trust in the company and its goals.
  
• Create a strong company culture. When about 54 million of the workforce is the millennial generation, company culture is more important than ever.
  
  Millennials and Gen Z too are seeking companies which align with their values, commitments, and aims. Culture and engagement are tied together and must be a part of your internal communication.

Start by leading by example and don’t just throw up some motivational posters, instead promote a family atmosphere from day one. Communicate your company values, create this culture in the office, and embed it into your onboarding, events, and benefits.

• Free flow of feedback. Through good, open and honest communication you can gain valuable feedback so managers can adjust to their needs and you’ll see an increase in motivation.
  
  Employees have an important voice, so encourage them to share their thoughts and ideas, while providing them with a platform that nourishes them on a regular basis.

When employees know their feedback holds value, they are incentivized to become advocates of the company, encouraging dialogue and recommending friends to join too. Plus, it builds healthy peer-to-peer relationships.

• Create personal value. By fostering open communication, employees feel more personal value as a worker and that helps creates a positive effect on their performance.
  
• Ensure alignment. When the company goals and its communication strategy are aligned, productivity goes up. Why? Because employees are committed to delivering the company’s goals.

How to Improve Communication Between Management

This leads us to the questions, how to improve communication between management and employees without breaking the bank?

Most small businesses tend to use known apps like Whatsapp to communicate with their employees. However, that’s something you should avoid!

There’s no separation between your personal life and work – all contacts are saved to your personal phone so when you’re searching for the supplier, you’re endlessly scrolling for the right information.

Plus, all messages are mixed together so the chance that you’ll send something to your manager that you shouldn’t have, a photo or message clearly meant for your spouse, can easily happen.

The Best Solution for Small Businesses

The best solution for small businesses is to use employee communication software, which allows you to communicate with your employees at any time and truly engage them.

There are many employee communication solutions in the market, as it’s the quickest and easiest way to communicate in 2019, that make internal communication between managers and employees more simple and intuitive.

A great example of an internal communication tool is Slack, especially when you have employees who sit in the office all day long. It’s unique interface and amazing integration capabilities are what hi-tech employees really benefit from.

Start one-on-one or group chat that is organized by “channels”, individual and team audio calls and video conferencing. Just send an email to invite an employee to join Slack.

Choose from three price ranges: free, standard ($8 per user/month), or plus ($15 per user/month). Note that each range differs, and has an annual commitment, with its benefits and capabilities so really look into if it’s a good fit for your business.

What happens when you have non-desk employees?

Most small businesses have non-desk employees, they work on the floor and on construction sites, in restaurants and hotels, and drive trucks.

However, 85% of non-desk employees say they don’t receive enough communication at their company. Seeing as how they’re not in the office daily, probably don’t have a corporate email, don’t have access to company news, and more.

Don’t use outdated methods to reach your non-desk employees, emails, phone calls or messages on bulletin boards just aren’t going to cut it anymore.

For companies with non-desk employees, the best solution is Connecteam, the leading all-in-one mobile solution in the market. From one place, you can communicate and engage your employees.

Start a one-on-one or group chat when relevant and track who read your message so you can send a targeted push notification to those who didn’t. Within the app, there is an employee directory, send customized surveys, create a suggestion box and more.

Access data whenever needed, there is no storage limit as everything is automatically stored on Connecteam’s secure cloud.

Instead of paying per user, Connecteam offers fixed monthly plans for up to 200 users and you can start at just $29 a month. Or create your user now and start a free 21-day trial to experience just how amazing Connecteam truly is.

Using an employee communication app will take your business to the next level, build trust with employees, improve engagement, boost productivity, lower turnover and so much more. Find the solution that’s right for you and start improving employee communication instantly.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/small-business-advice/improve-work-communication-in-small-businesses-without-spending-a-fortune/