Yes, it’s that time of the year again. You get the urge to sort stuff out, have a good tidy up, empty the garage, chuck out those clothes that don’t quite fit like they used too. It can be very therapeutic, I have been told….

So, have you thought about doing the same for your business? Businesses do get cluttered and I attach a few simple ideas to help sort them out. These approaches can be applied to all of your business, but I am focusing on health and safety.

Look at your overheads – What are you paying out?

• When did you last get a quote from another insurer?  Do they give you a discount for good health and safety performance; if not why not?
• How much are you paying for retained health and safety support? Is it good value and when did they last call you? When you needed help, were they there?
• How often are you getting fire extinguishers and portable appliances tested? I hear so many office managers tell me they are having kettles PAT tested every six months – why?

Look at your health and safety policy and procedures – How long are they? Are they relevant?

I recently visited a company in Stamford who manufacture windows. They had been supported by one of the big health and safety providers recommended by their bank or insurers. This company turned up, dumped a thick management system on their desk, placed the invoice next to it and disappeared. When I had a look through what they had been given there were some good documents but there were also a lot that were not relevant or not needed. They had a risk assessment for working as a funeral director next to the grave.

That tells me two things:

1. They had no ownership of the documents as they had never had them explained;
2. The provider was lazy and cut and pasted a folder together that had little bearing on their business

Most importantly, look at your people

In difficult times we need to ensure that we sweat all our assets and that includes our people. To do this it may mean you need to invest in them. What are their competencies? When were they last given any health and safety training? When were they last challenged to improve their (and your) place of work?

Set up a housekeeping initiative, chuck out those items that you know you will never need, tidy the canteen, clean the fridge, get people to be a bit more proud of their place of work and you will reap the benefits.

If you need help with challenging your workforce, insurers or health and safety providers, please give me a shout. Email: colin.nottage@influentialmg.com; or call: 07799 656303.