In the headlines we often see reports of huge mishaps that happen on site where employees have paid the ultimate price or just narrowly escaped disaster by some kind of miracle. Did you know that being a safer dealership can actually bring you in even MORE money? Here’s why. Safer business reputation helps provide you with better insurance rates, and typically is a great convincing factor when a consumer is trying to make a final decision.  

So what we’re here to share with you are some ways you can keep your crew members safe, no matter the site or season! An article from Total Landscape Care evaluated some key ways that safety award-winning businesses have kept their record clean and more importantly, their employees safe. Check out their five tips below!

Discussion

Set the tone around safety by making it a priority to discuss on a regular basis. A great way to do this is by conducting a regularly scheduled safety-specific meeting. The types of discussions you can facilitate in these meetings could include topics like the latest safety measures for specific equipment, reviewing incidents that have happened in the past to recall proper procedure, and overall employee feedback about how they feel the safety measures are at your dealership. You can also consider which season of the year you’re in and how this could impact your employees’ safety as well.

Motivation

Consider motivating your employees to stick to safe practices by getting them excited through more tangible incentives. For example, if you’re noticing your team isn’t the best about having all their safety gear on, Total Landscape Care recommends something like putting their names on their safety vests, monogramming their helmets, etc. I bet you can guess an even better way to incentivize them. Yup, money! Consider giving employees with the safest records cash awards or bonuses for no incidents.

Executive Education

It’s not just your employees that need to be kept updated on the latest safety measures and how they impact the customer’s work site. Dealership managers should consider visiting their customer’s job sites to better understand how these safety measures impact real-life scenarios. Dealerships can then see where there might be any potential issues executing these safety measures so that your employees can better position them in the equipment sales process.

Elevated Expectations

Set the tone early on and make sure you set high expectations for your employees from the start. Encourage them to stay on point with safety measures by taking pride in the level of work they’re doing. For example, communicating that equipment should be regularly cleaned and always in tip top shape. Also, be sure that your team is aware of the latest safety laws. You can find the latest laws and regulations on Osha.gov.

Resources

Be sure to utilize all resources possible to make sure your team has the knowledge they need to stay safe! Consider having a manufacturer representative, or even a sales representative come in and show your team all the product’s features and safety measures. You can also bring your employees to industry events in which safety is being discussed. There are a variety of ways you can teach and get your team excited about safety!

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There are so many different ways to keep your employees safe. What are some of the tactics your dealership has taken on to ensure your team is kept safe? Leave them in the comments below!