Tell me if you see what I see in the annual list of top 10 OSHA violations — www.osha.gov/top10citedstandards: fall protection, hazard communications, ladders, respiratory protection, scaffolding, lockout/tagout, powered industrial trucks, fall protection training, eye and face protection and machine guarding.
Yes, it’s a list of tangible, potentially fatal risks facing front-line technicians in facilities every day. Beyond that, though, the much-publicized list is a roster of very preventable issues.
Why is this important? Because managers are searching high and low for entry-level technicians to replace retiring technicians, and offering potential hires a very real and important reason — personal safety — to take a closer look at an organization could be a valuable recruiting tool.
Managers only control so much in the hiring process. Starting salaries and incentives are constrained by budgets. The demanding physical nature of the work is a given. And facility maintenance will never be considered anything close to glamourous.
Given these limitations, why not address the issue of workplace safety directly as one very important reason potential new hires should pay closer attention to an organization? Tell them about the organization’s workplace safety culture, the comprehensive and well-funded safety training programs, and the array of products, technology and practices the department deploys to keep workers safe on the job.
For managers looking for any edge in hiring, addressing workplace safety head on by telling prospective workers the great lengths the organization goes to protect them might be the reason a job offer turns into a new hire.
Workplace safety can appeal to technician candidates in a very important way. It can hit them where they live.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
