Be June is National Safety Month, and it’s an ideal time to explore various ways clients can collaborate with their staffing agency to create a safe and healthy workplace.

When it comes to workplace safety, what role should the staffing agency play? It varies from client to client, but let’s look at a few ways staffing agencies can work with host employers to protect their workers.

1) Provide general safety training for staff and workers.  Workplace safety is a shared responsibility and OSHA recommends that staffing agencies implement general training. By law, temporary workers should be treated like any other worker in terms of training and safety at the customer site.

2) Verify that clients are promoting and providing a safe workplace.  A staffing agency should conduct a walk-through of the work-site. OSHA recommends that agencies and employers collaborate to review all environments in which a worker may be assigned.  A staffing agency should request the potential client for their OSHA log, and be sure to identify what hazards your workers may encounter on the job. This will help identify any potential hazards, assess risks, training opportunities and help resolve any issues to prevent future accidents.

3) Cultivate safety awareness all year round! There are times when safety concerns can go unnoticed by management. For these instances, it is important that employees feel comfortable enough to speak up. Have a designated way that employees and temp workers can report concerns to help make the workplace even safer than before.

4) Communicate! Most important, an agency that is educated on workplace safety can help you communicate the importance of workplace safety, your employee’s responsibility in ensuring their personal safety, as well as of their coworkers, spotting potential hazards and preventing accidents.

For more information contact SharpLink Staffing or visit: OSHA Temporary Workers