RAISING THE BAR OF - National Safety Council
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RAISING THE BAR OF
As Seen In March · April · 2018
© 2018 by the American Staffing Association
1 AMERICAN STAFFING ASSOCIATION
It’s been more than a year since ASA and the National Safety Council launched a
comprehensive program that gives staffing companies the opportunity to demonstrate
their commitment to workplace safety. Here is what those who have participated in the
program have to say about their experiences—and how their businesses are benefitting.
L
ast spring, Staffing Success reported on the launch of more meaningful dialog around safety. Participants undergo
the Safety Standard of Excellence® program—with the a rigorous assessment and agree to adopt a range of best prac-
goal of encouraging staffing companies to adopt work- tices. The program’s purpose is to help reduce the rate and
place safety best practices and standards, and to foster and severity of temporary employees’ workplace injuries; help
measure continuous safety improvements. control staffing companies’ workers’ compensation costs; and
Designed by ASA and the National Safety Council, the enhance the image of the staffing industry with respect to job
program offers staffing companies a way to engage in a richer, seekers, staffing clients, the government, and media. >>>
By Adam Stone
SAFETY EXCELLENCE
The Safety Standard of Excellence
mark is a real differentiator for your
company in the competitive staffing
marketplace. When your company
earns the mark, you demonstrate
that standards are in place to foster
a safe workplace for temporary
workers, that your firm is committed
to worker safety, and that it is a
trusted employer and business
partner. More than 20 staffing
companies have earned the mark in
the past year.
Go to americanstaffing.net/safety
to see new videos, learn about lower
pricing, and register for the program.
americanstaffing.net 2
produce whatever end result they’re trying to
To date, more than 20 staffing companies produce. Sometimes they short-circuit the appro-
priate training for employees, particularly with
have completed the program and new employees. They don’t necessarily give them
earned the Safety Standard of Excellence the time they need because they want to get them
productive. Well, we want them productive as
mark—and interest and participation in well, but we want them productive in a safe way.
the program continue to grow.
Have you seen tangible outcomes from partici-
pation in the SSE program?
While we had really good results prior to partici-
Staffing companies that enroll in the program pating in the program, since undergoing the assess-
show commitment to selecting and screening for ment we have reduced our overall recordable
safe applicants, ensuring that general safety training workers’ compensation injuries by 23%. Several
and orientation takes place, evaluating the work of the SSE report’s recommendations, regarding
site hazards employees may be exposed to, working the safety inspection process at the client site,
with clients to put necessary protections in place, have really helped us—specifically around the
and instituting collaborative incident management safety training clients need to do for temporary
protocols. employees.
To date, more than 20 staffing companies have We can’t say for certain [that it’s directly as a
completed the program and earned the Safety result of the program], but what we do know is that
Standard of Excellence mark—and interest and we are down 23% on recordable claims that were
participation in the program continue to grow. going to represent about half a million dollars in
To learn more about the SSE experience and its losses, and that more than pays for the SSE process.
value, Staffing Success reached out to several staffing
executives whose companies have earned the mark
as well as the director of workplace strategy and SCOTT BICKSLER
consulting operations at NSC. Together, they paint Lead safety manager, Aerotek
a picture of a robust program that is enhancing
professionalism around safety issues, giving staffing Why did you seek the SSE
companies a better assessment of their own safety mark?
practices, and strengthening their ability to guide Aerotek staffs almost every industry. We are heavily
and assist clients in this complex area. into manufacturing, especially during hurricane
recovery remediation. Earlier this year, we were in
Northern California during the fires. There’s a lot of
DAN STRUVE, CSP inherent risk with job sites like that.
Founder, chairman, and chief At Aerotek, we are also a very feedback-driven
executive officer, Helpmates company. Going through the Safety Standard of
Staffing Services Excellence process provided us with some great
information and tools that we can use going
How does the SSE program benefit staffing forward. The NSC consultants looked at the ways
companies? that we onboard employees, how we determine who
I think the single biggest area of benefit that every the best candidate is for a specific job, making sure
staffing firm will get is from a contractual perspec- we’re putting the right fit out there at client job
tive. In the contracts between the staffing companies sites. It was a great validation of our processes and
and their clients, the National Safety Council has also an opportunity to open our books and allow
direct and strong language to make it crystal clear the SSE consultant to come in and really scrutinize
contractually who’s responsible for what. This really what we do.
helps us from a contractual perspective.
What was the process like for you?
How do workplace conditions sometimes work We started the process in early August and
against safety interests? earned the mark in October. We had eight sepa-
Production managers, foremen, shift super- rate assessments that were completed. We opened
visors, and general managers are all pressed to up our offices and made our personnel available.
3 AMERICAN STAFFING ASSOCIATION
We prepared by using the SSE portal. We knew SHARON FRANEY,
there were some areas of weakness and we took that TSC, CSP
feedback, and now we’re going to build from that Chief operating officer,
feedback to make our processes and our programs Hamilton–Ryker
even stronger.
How does the SSE mark
SHARON DAVIS, CSHO help you to position yourself in the marketplace?
Occupational safety manager, I think the main advantage is credibility. We
Elwood Staffing Services want our industry to be known as reputable, caring
about our employees, and making sure that they’re
How does safety factor into coming home safe.
your overall business model? It takes a lot of pieces to make sure that happens.
Safety is important because we are in the people ASA and NSC have worked diligently in getting
business. We deal with mothers, fathers, brothers, input and buy-in from all parties. They designed a
daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins. We want them very holistic program. They look at your contracts,
to earn a good living, go home and be in a bowling they look at your policies and procedures. The
league, play baseball, and be able to pick up their assessment and the ability to utilize the SSE mark
children. You can’t do that if you get injured. We validates that we are following the correct steps and
attribute our strong safety record and standards to are doing what we say we do.
establishing a corporate culture where everyone Our internal employees are very glad that we’ve
feels responsible for safety and pursues it on a gone through this process. For them, it was a great
daily basis. Not only do we strive to work with celebration of the work that they’ve done. Our
companies that share our ongoing commitment to clients appreciate the fact that they’re working with
safety and safe operations at all job sites, but we a company that is doing things the right way, that
also incorporate safety training into every associate we’re helping them prevent injuries, and that we are
orientation and offer a variety of safety programs leaders in safety.
and resources to both temporary associates and
client companies. Safety is the right thing to do, but there are also
business benefits. How do those play out?
How did the SSE process help improve safety for There are all the humanistic reasons for keeping
your workers? your people safe, and there’s also the branding
One of the things that we did that I thought benefit from the SSE mark. You want to be known
was very beneficial is we had the National Safety as a respectable, trustworthy place of employment. If
Council come in and sit in our corporate office. We you’re sending people out to unsafe environments or
had a full day of looking at all of our policies, our you’re not properly caring for them, if there’s an acci-
procedures, and our forms. dent and you’re not responding well, that is not going
We spent a day educating them on what Elwood to be good for public relations and your business.
is all about—our safety policy, procedures, our Having this type of program from the National
programs. I think it saved time when they got out Safety Council and ASA gives you the benchmark
there. They were prepared. They knew the forms to that you should be reaching for—and signifies that
look for. They made sure that these forms were in you are at the top of the class.
the branch offices and that we were compliant—the
difference between saying “We’re going to do it” AMY HARPER
and “We’re doing it.” Director of workplace strategy
and consulting operations,
What did you learn through earning the SSE National Safety Council
mark?
What we learned from the whole process is that From NSC’s perspective, why
we’re doing a lot of things right. That’s a good does the staffing industry need a safety standard?
feeling. And we also learned how to even better Temporary workers are put in some precarious
identify and mitigate, or even eliminate, work- positions. Host employers often outsource the
place hazards and exposures, ensure clear commu- jobs that might be costing them more for workers’
nication, and clearly delineate responsibilities of compensation, so they’re looking to transfer some of
each party. that risk to the staffing company. >>>
americanstaffing.net 4
Also, temporary workers are going to different know at the outset they’re going to have a partner
employers over and over again throughout the year, in safety. They’re going to have a company that’s
and we know from our data at the National Safety willing to work with them and pay attention to
Council that the risk of injury is higher at the begin- safety issues, because it’s going to benefit both
ning of a new job. Workers new to a job may be parties.
unfamiliar with their surroundings, may not know But the ultimate benefit of the Safety Standard of
or have mastered the job procedures, and may be Excellence program is the potential to reduce worker
less likely to ask questions. injuries. The program really is aimed at protecting
workers so that they go home the same way they
How can this program help staffing companies? came to work.
The Safety Standard of Excellence program is a
way for staffing companies to raise their hand to say, Looking forward, the SSE program will continue
“I’m committed to safety,” and to really go under to evolve, say leaders at ASA and NSC. Now that
the microscope and let someone from the outside more than 20 companies have earned the mark,
examine their operations. ASA and NSC plan to begin hosting virtual meet-
The program has the potential to help staffing ings for those companies as well as expand upon the
companies reduce their losses. Workers’ compen- wide range of safety-related resources the organiza-
sation is one of the greatest expenses that staffing tions currently provide.
companies have. Looking at best practices in safety Learn more about the Safety Standard of Excel-
can help them reduce the number of injuries that lence program at americanstaffing.net/safety. n
temporary workers have, and therefore help control
workers’ compensation costs. Adam Stone, a freelance writer based in Annapolis, MD, is a
regular contributor to Staffing Success. Send feedback on this
What message do staffing companies send to article to success@americanstaffing.net. Engage with ASA on
their clients by taking part in the SSE program? social media—go to americanstaffing.net/social.
Host employers that look for the SSE mark
ASA webinars deliver HIGH-LEVEL LEARNING especially for
STAFFING AND RECRUITING professionals!
GO TO americanstaffing.net/webinars.
DID YOU KNOW? ASA WEBINARS…
■ Are FREE for ASA member companies
■ Are accessible on your smartphone
or tablet
■ Cover a wide range of relevant topics,
including sector-specific content
■ Provide continuing education
hours toward maintaining
your ASA credential
5 AMERICAN STAFFING ASSOCIATION
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