There are many responsibilities necessary for any business to focus on. We all have a social responsibility to ourselves and our customers for example, to offer good quality products or services at reasonable prices, and to do your best to help the local community. Do that, and they will take care of you. It’s also important to keep ourselves mindful of the environment, be that how we handle waste management or being more careful about the businesses we partner with for success.

As you can see in our guides to business opportunity, it’s often the most humble, focused and attentive firms that really influence community life and can have such a wonderful impact on the world around us. One of the most important responsibilities is keeping everyone who interacts with or supports your business safe. That also means caring for the wonderful staff that make our modest enterprise what it is, no matter if they’re on full-time or part-time contracts.

In this detailed post, we hope to explore the very many ways you can ensure a reliable outcome here. Without further ado, please consider some of the following advice:

Video Surveillance

Security cameras are very useful but unfortunately not too many smaller businesses use them, despite how affordable and useful they are at deterring others. They’re also worth far more than just catching shoplifters.

Good camera placement, installed by a helpful and reliable video surveillance company, will ensure everyone feel a bit safer, even during those quiet periods or late shifts when the streets are empty and dark outside. You’ll find that archived footage comes in handy for all sorts of unexpected reasons, such as checking if someone really did slip in that puddle they’re complaining about, to finding a customer’s lost wallet or protecting your staff from a spurious complaint. Most insurance companies love to see a good camera system in place too, which often means better rates for you as you look for more affordable coverage.

Remaining Mindful Of Stage Ages & Appropriate Interactions

It’s important to remember how different age groups respond to the same space in totally different ways, and that includes the varied ages of your staff. If you’re hiring younger women for your cafe, you need to make sure they feel safe against any untoward and harmful customers, who can be reprimanded for inappropriate advances as we unfortunately do see.

As for customers, checking ID for age-restricted products is important. It’s also important to keep in mind the ambiance of the space and what kind of customer it attracts, as music that keeps teenagers interested in the hangout space might send older customers straight back out the door.

That does track with safety too, because keep in mind how you appeal to various age groups, and who you wish to attend your business, will generally change the equation of how you manage safety. If you run a local small bar, for instance, deciding if you show sports on major game days will determine what kind of safety plan you have in place for that weekend, and what conflict you may expect.

Clear Bookkeeping Processes

Staff can handle a fair amount of money and cash per day, even in modest, local businesses. Having a clear paper trail of every transaction is essential then, because it helps spot little problems before they turn into big ones, and it also prevents you from laying the blame at anyone’s feet when really bad accounting and counting was to blame for missing funds.

Of course, tax season becomes less of a nightmare too when everything’s properly documented, and part of safety means you’re not falling afoul of any essential financial rules. As money is also desirable for everyone, having appropriate security systems in place (like showing staff where to lock away big bills and how to calmly give a potential theft anything they ask for to sustain their own safety) is important. This is where the following comes into play:

Careful Training

The first week of training is just the beginning really. It’s important not only to train staff as per their responsibilities but also how to manage difficult situations and mitigate risk. Of course, taking time to explain why certain rules exist makes much more sense than just expecting people to follow them without question, but you have to be thorough.

That means remaining clear about fire safety. It might mean a waste management refresher so that customers are nowhere near when you’re emptying the bins or clearing up broken glass. Training also means understanding how to deal with conflict, be that requesting you as a manager or asking someone to leave because they have to refuse service. If you have a nice little tea room that also sells cans of beer, for example, making it clear who to refuse service to is key.

A Connection With Other Local Brands

A great way to stay connected is to know the other businesses in your area, and you likely agree this just makes good sense. If something sketchy is happening at one shop, it’s probably going to affect others nearby too, especially when it comes to problem customers or scenarios affecting you all, like difficult weather events.

Working together during such events or emergencies will easily help to create a a stronger community for everyone. It’s pretty great when the cafe down the street sends hungry book lovers your way, or your customers ask where to get a good coffee after browsing in turn. We tend to think of businesses in constant lock-step competition with one another, but in small towns especially this won’t be the case.

Appropriate Shift Assignments

Getting the schedule right can make or break someone’s week, including your own, and that’s not just about wellbeing but safety too. After all, nobody wants to be swamped during busy periods or standing around with nothing to do during quiet times, or do they want to risk being overburdened? Think of a staff kitchen only helmed by one worker during lunchtime, trying to cook many meals during the rush and undercooking some protein which could lead to a safety risk, let alone a legal threat. 

Also, paying attention to which people work well together, and who handles different kinds of situations best, makes everything run more smoothly. It’s worth remembering that fair rotation of popular shifts keeps everyone happier too, for instance, it’s bad form for management staff to place the same workers on a “close” and then expect them to come in early the next day. It happens, but you’ll have a tired worker and all that implies.

Making Reporting Pathways Clear

When something goes wrong, it’s good to have clear procedures in place, because something will always go wrong. The last thing anyone needs in a stressful situation is confusion about what to do next which can often lead to panic, and making teh issue worse.

For example, where to report vandalism, when to call the authorities, and how to move customer complaints up the chain is important. Even in a small team you need to be clear about protocols and make sure everyone knows how to manage. Some things that might require action and not approval, like calling the ambulance for a customer’s medical emergency instead of waiting for a manager to do it, is important to say ahead of time.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily keep your staff safe. They work hard for your humble business, and are worth taking care of in kind, through and through!