PREVENTION
Best Practices in Making the Workplace Safer for Your Employees
Prevention of employee injuries goes beyond mere compliance with the law; it is essential to a healthy, productive, and engaged workforce. An organization that takes proactive steps to mitigate potential perils protects not only its employees and volunteers but also minimizes disruptions in operations and reduces costs, while maintaining a positive work environment. Understanding the core principles of effective injury prevention programs allows the Risk Administrator and leadership teams to implement strategies that truly make a difference.
Identify potential hazards early and take preventive steps before injuries occur.
Educate both employees and volunteers. Everyone plays a role in creating a safe environment.
Early hazard recognition shows commitment, reduces injuries, and boosts morale.
Track all incidents and near misses to reveal patterns and root causes.
Analyze data to find where and why injuries happen—then take corrective action.
Example: slips among housekeeping staff can be reduced with non-slip mats, proper footwear, or targeted training.
Transparent reporting and regular reviews help build accountability and continuous improvement.
Each department faces unique risks that require tailored prevention:
Coaching/Athletics: Slips, falls, overexertion, and contact injuries.
Housekeeping/Maintenance: Chemical exposure, lifting injuries, slips/trips/falls.
Clinical Care: Needlestick injuries, infection exposure, patient-handling strains.
Office Settings: Repetitive strain, poor ergonomics, slips/trips.
Audits, training, and protective equipment should match each area’s exposures.
Leadership involvement: Model safe behaviors and champion safety initiatives.
Open communication: Encourage reporting without fear of reprisal; share updates via meetings or newsletters.
Recognition programs: Incentivize safe practices through awards or team challenges.
Employee engagement: Include staff in safety committees and training to build ownership.
Even with prevention efforts, incidents can occur; report and investigate promptly.
Record every incident, including near misses.
Investigate systematically: secure the scene, collect facts, identify root causes, and apply corrective actions.
Share findings and monitor effectiveness to ensure improvements stick.
Update policies and training as needed for ongoing improvement.
Provide ongoing, role-specific trainingthat is practical and engaging.
Use varied formats: live, virtual, and online to reach all learners.
Maintain records of attendance and assessments for compliance.
Tie safety performance to evaluations to reinforce accountability.
Ongoing training will keep staff current with best practices, reinforce safe behaviors, and provide the organization with documented evidence of proactive safety efforts.
You can learn more about preventing employee injuries by watching the Risk Solutions on-demand webinar: Employee Injury Prevention What Should You be Doing? The webinar focuses on activities all organizations can utilize in their ministry to enhance their existing risk management programs. It is designed for those in your organization who are responsible for risk management, safety, human resource personnel, facility directors, trainers, safety committee members and more.
