5 Features A First Aider Brings To The Workplace
Analyze a list of the most influential people to have in the office, and a first-aid specialist might not be at the top. Yes, you need one because it’s a legal requirement. Still, the ‘smooth talker’ and the ‘hard worker’ are the employees you’re looking to add to your team. With their help, the company has more of an opportunity to grow and be successful.
While a team member with first aid training is a bonus, it’s a backup in case the worst happens. And, you might go years without an incident that requires these particular set of skills. However, to see a first aider as someone who is a safety net, and who fills a legal requirement, is short-sighted. In reality, employing these workers, or sending current employees on first aid training course adds a lot to the workplace.
You might not see it now, but hopefully, the following will open your eyes to the opportunities. Here are the features that first aid specialists can offer your company, inside and outside of the workplace.
They Save Lives
Not to put too fine a point on it, but people with first aid training do save lives. After all, it’s the initial response that is the most vital part of the process. If ill customers, clients, or employees fall sick, they need help right away. Thanks to their nursing skills, even if they’re limited, a first aider could give a person more of a chance of surviving by limiting the damage until the paramedics arrive.
Okay, this is a once-in-a-lifetime scenario that might never happen to you or your business. But, it’s incredible how much morale is impacted by the knowledge that there is somebody in the office who knows how to act in an emergency. It is hard to quantify, yet workplaces with first aid personnel tend to be happier and less daunting places to work.
And happiness is linked to productivity. So, picking an applicant with first aid training could be what pushes output levels to a new high.
And Money
In the grand scheme of things, your employee’s health is more important than the company’s bottom line. Of course, you will cut costs wherever possible if it’s a safe and legitimate thing to do because businesses need to save their resources to survive. The great thing about a worker with knowledge of first aid is that they cover both bases.
You already know how their skills save lives, but what about money? How is it possible? The answer is simple: they’re trained to see things that the average eye won’t notice. Whether it’s files that are perilously close to falling from a dangerous height or slippery floors without signage, they’ll report potential hazards. As a result, you can negate them before they turn into an employee lawsuit that could cost the business thousands of dollars.
There’s a 10% chance you’ll face legal proceedings in the US, so it’s a factor that you shouldn’t take lightly.
Courses Add Responsibility
The one thing that employees want more than anything in their career is responsibility. Nobody wants to be treated like a child by their boss, asking for permission to do this, that, and the other. It’s demoralizing, and it hurts morale to the point where productivity levels drop because workers are too bored or disillusioned to be efficient.
Employees crave power and independence, and a first aid course gives it to them in spades. As a rule, there is usually only a handful of people who are qualified, which already sets a select few employees out from the crowd. Plus, you can delegate the responsibility to them and let them plan training sessions, create policies, and be in charge of presentations. What’s better is this: not everyone will care. So, the ones that do will be able to increase their responsibility in the office without doing it unfairly.
If others complain, you can point out that they were offered the same opportunity and didn’t act.
While Reducing Boredom
A feature the majority of the office will enjoy is that the training and policies are inclusive. Therefore, everybody will be involved at certain points, regardless of who leads the session or is pulling strings behind the scenes. A company meeting is an excellent example. For the workplace to be a safer and more secure environment, everyone needs to hear what is being done and how it impacts them while they’re at work.
It sounds like a small thing, but splitting up the day with a meeting can be a fantastic way to relieve boredom. Even if people aren’t too bothered about what’s outlined, they’ll prefer it than sitting at their desk tackling the same project. Of course, the people who go on the courses get time off from their usual schedule, which is a massive bonus from their point of view. And, it’s all above board because as you know, first aid courses will positively impact everything from morale to productivity.
Often, the little things that have the biggest impacts.
Employees Will Be Closer
How your employees interact is hugely important to the company’s success. When they like and enjoy working with one another, they will share information and make each other’s lives easier. Sadly, it’s not an element of the workplace that you can control. It’s not as if you can make them like a particular person.
Thankfully, you can put them in situations where they get to know and understand people better. Usually, team-building exercises are retreats or parties, but they can take many shapes and forms. As long as they spend time together in a less formal environment, it’s a bonding opportunity. A first aid course, then, is an excellent excuse to get colleagues in a room and learn more about their personalities.
Hopefully, the result will be that they have less ill will towards people than they did before. You can’t guarantee anything, but you can boost the chances thanks to first aid training.
Did you see first aiders as this essential before? Will you invest in the courses now that you understand the benefits?