Managing Lone Workers: Are we supporting our staff enough?
Managing Lone Workers: Are we supporting our staff enough?
The question is simple enough and if you can say “yes” as a manager, supervisor or even a team leader then that is good news, as it seems that you have not only thought of safe systems of work, but have put things in place to ensure safety is paramount when dealing with any form of Managing Lone Workers.
However do not be fooled that everyone is constantly doing this and are recognising the problems faced by their staff on a daily basis. Last week was one of those weeks where we all didn’t stop to breathe as we were running from one end of the province to the other carrying out risk assessments, training needs analysis and delivering training for organisations and all in Managing Lone Workers. But, and here is the but nearly every session or meeting we attended a member of staff would ask us a question in private about someone they knew for instance, a friend or relative that did work alone and didn’t have any training like the sessions we deliver and advice we give.
The questions we were asked are very common in our line of work (as stated in the past on our blogs), that highlight how 60% of our work comes after an incident and my favourite phrase, “We never have any problems”, but then someone proceeds to tell me how they were chased out of a house by a drunkard carrying a bottle and threatening to implant it in a place, I will leave to your own imagination.
Managing lone workers is a responsibility that every manager, supervisor or anyone that’s leads another should take seriously and with that at least take the time to see if any member of staff while lone working or dealing with the public should assess and if even a small risk is identified address it before someone gets hurt.
Blog by Will Holland
For more information on managing lone workers please contact us on the details below at Quell.