Apart from the legal obligations and certification advantages, why on earth would you conduct an external audit in your business?
Most workers on the ground floor or even middle management for that matter would agree that every time they see someone auditing their work space, they get edgy and try to protect their behind or even try to hide well known issues within the organisation.
Remember back to when you were a child and you did something you knew was wrong and didn’t want to own up to it? Well it seems that not much has changed even though we’ve grown up (or so it seems). Even if we didn’t do anything wrong, we seem to sway towards the people pleaser approach which is usually only done so we can look good in the eyes of our employer, but if it backfires, we are the ones that look bad. There is also the blame game approach. Need I say more?
The important thing here is to find out why the workforce would want to act this way. Business owners need to encourage their workers to speak up and highlight the issues so they can be dealt with systematically (without fear of punishment).
Wouldn’t you want every individual within your business to succeed regardless of what position they play within the organisation? We should be doing our very best on a daily basis. If we make mistakes, we learn from those mistakes and move on (hopefully with support from upper management).
The workgroups within the organisation should do the same, but conduct the work as a team to improve the workplace conditions. With this mindset, an improvement to productivity is inevitable. Lead by example. If others see you making a difference, don’t you think they would want to be a part of it too?
Business owners should understand their workforce and be able to inspire workers to want the organisation to succeed, and make money!
The purpose of conducting a WHS Audit is not designed to point the finger at someone within the business. It is designed to highlight key areas for improvement within the business and possible breaches against legislation. Isn’t it better to highlight a potential issue before it raises its ugly head during an incident? The costs of finding out issues within the business at this stage far outweigh the costs if you find out during a well organised WHS Audit.
A WHS Audit shouldn’t just stop at the final report. From there, a strong corrective action plan should be established to ensure that the identified items are fixed within a set timeframe.
WHS Audits shouldn’t be despised, they should be embraced to improve company objectives. When the company meets its objectives as set out in their business plan, the workers are also the ones that succeed. Everyone wins!! #WHSAudit #ContinuousImprovement
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