What the survey measured
Researchers involved with the survey consulted more than 250 contractors in order to assess where they stood on the issue of job safety. Using 33 key indicators to determine precise positioning on the safety spectrum, they found that roughly 1/3 of all those contractors were at the high end, another 1/3 were in the middle, and of course the remaining 1/3 were at the low end of the spectrum. Interestingly enough, those contractors at the high end of the safety spectrum could also report greater business profits than those in the middle or at the lower end.
Other benefits
In addition to a stronger bottom line, there were other valuable business benefits which accrued to those contractors at the high end of the safety spectrum. Project quality was reported at 88% for contractors at the high side of safety investment, as opposed to only 56% on the opposite end of the spectrum. Staff retention hovered around 80% for the high safety investment contractors, while it was only about half that for those companies at the lower end. Return on investment showed similar results, with high end safety companies reporting 75% increased ROI, versus only 38% at the lower end. Regarding the ability to appeal to and attract new hires, high safety investment companies could report a 67% success rate, whereas low safety investment contractors reported a mere 27%.
Survey comparisons
When the results of this survey were pitted against the results from a very similar survey conducted in 2012, it became clear that contractors these days are becoming much more aware of the value of investing in safety as a means of increasing their bottom line. One of the starkest differences between the present survey and the 2012 version, was a nearly 20% increase in worker engagement at companies where job safety represented a huge investment on the part of the contracting company. From this, it seems clear that when employees can become part of the safety process, and are provided with the tools to succeed in that endeavor, they become much more engaged and committed to job quality, job safety, and to making their company the best in the business.
