There are no shortage of choices in the staffing industry. A lot of good choices out there for sure but how do you ensure you are choosing a supplier that values safety?
There are many ways to evaluate this question but at People Source, LLC we have a few suggestions:
- Safety Culture. Most staffing companies can point to things they do that are safety related. How many suppliers can say they have a safety culture? Culture is not a program or a few tasks, it is a way of seeing the world. If your staffing partner can’t articulate their safety culture, how important is it to them? The following is a link to a resource on how to build a safety culture for your own organization. https://safetyculture.com/topics/culture-of-safety/how-to-improve-safety-culture/.
- Workman’s Comp Experience Modifier. Every staffing organization should have a modifier (EMR) since, with a few exceptions, all companies maintain workers comp insurance. The risk is too high to not have coverage. Always ask for the supplier’s certificate of insurance showing worker’s comp coverage. Then ask for their EMR or modifier score. The staffing industry average is set at 1.0. If it is lower that is a good thing. Our EMR score is .90 or 10% lower than the average. Knowing your staffing providers score will help you determine how serious they take safety.
- Accident Prevention. Safety starts with being proactive. Those firms focused on safety have a process they follow to evaluate risks. There should be a dialogue started by them and a request to walk your jobsite or location. This is an important way for us at People Source to determine hazards and understand the necessary requirements and PPE of the role. Ever had an employee not show up ready for your job? OSHA requires all third parties to do site safety evaluations at every work site, yearly. The following are two links. One is an overview as to how OSHA sees the safety relationship between staffing agencies and their customers. The other is information on the regulation requiring annual site safety inspections. https://www.osha.gov/temporaryworkers
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.20.
- Return to work program. Injuries do happen unfortunately. How they are handled goes a long way in improving outcomes. People matter to us at People Source. Injured associates’ full recovery is paramount. We are there at every step. A return-to-work program (RTW) is imperative. The benefits are many 1) reduce stress for the associate as they know there is work available 2) proven to reduce costs since no temporary income benefits are paid (TIB) 3) allows for greater communication with all parties leading to quicker resolution 4) the goodwill created from doing the right thing!
At People Source we believe safety is a way of life. It not just good business. It is the right thing to do. From beliefs our actions follow: we are proactive with our clients in the field; we align the right talent to the right job; in the rare instance an injury happens we approach it with eye on leaving everyone better than we found them. If you aren’t getting this approach and commitment – let’s talk.
Miked@peoplesourceusa.com or 817.753.0374 Office