Is it worth it to have everyone in your company CPR and first aid certified?
The short answer is that it is well worth the time, money, and effort to ensure that all of your employees are certified in first aid and CPR, and that they renew their certifications every two years. Here are some of the top reasons to make it a priority for your company.
Preventing Emergencies
First and foremost, having all of your employees complete first aid and CPR training is an excellent way to prevent an emergency from even happening.
While having the training to help during an actual emergency is great, having these certifications to prevent an emergency from even occurring is better. Employees who have this training are then able to utilize those skills to make safer, less risky choices in their workplace.
For example, an employee who has received these certifications may take the additional steps of eating more carefully to avoid choking. Or an employee may take extra precautions when coming into the office when the parking lot is covered in ice during inclement weather. While it certainly won’t prevent every potential issue from ever happening in the workplace, it does give employees better tools to work with when avoiding emergencies.
Avoiding Negative Outcomes
While a lot of emergencies can be avoided with the appropriate training, accidents will still happen. Training your employees to keep their cool and handle any emergency wisely can only benefit them and your workplace as a whole. Simply knowing to call 911 is not enough - emergencies like cardiac arrest require help to be provided within minutes. Having each and every employee know what to do in a time-sensitive situation is a great way to avoid potential tragedy and deadly scenarios.
Whether it is a violent workplace event, a fire, or a health emergency (such as a heart attack, choking, etc.), having first aid and CPR training will be extremely useful. Especially because having those skills could mean the “difference between life and death” according to the vice president of the American Red Cross, Dominick Toll.
When someone in the workplace goes into cardiac arrest, there is only a small window of time to keep them alive. According to the American Heart Association, bystanders only have a few minutes before the situation becomes fatal. Having employees that can calmly and rationally administer first aid or CPR to injured employees could, quite literally, save lives.
Another vital aspect of first aid and CPR certification training is knowing where emergency supplies are in the office. If your employees do not know where the first aid kit, manual defibrillator and/or automated external defibrillator (AEDs), and fire extinguishers are, the certifications won’t be as helpful. A good way to combat this is to have a short training session or email go out to every employee that alerts them of where these items are in the office building.
Investing in Your Employees’ Health and Wellness
Besides the obvious benefits of preventing and appropriately handling emergencies, making sure that every employee has their first aid and CPR certifications is a great way to invest in their health and wellness while also showcasing to each employee how much they matter to you.
Nothing is more important to invest in than your employees, and what better way to do so than by ensuring their health, safety, and mental and physical wellbeing? Have a meeting with your HR department regarding the best way to get everyone in the company to attend this training. Once your HR department is on board, the initiative can be presented to the rest of your company as a way to promote health and wellness, as well as team-building.
Depending on your office, you may want to explore the various options available, such as virtual or blended training, or even having someone who is certified to teach first aid come into the office with their supplies. Taking the extra steps of making the certifications easy and convenient for them to obtain is a great way to let your employees know how important it is to you and your company that they stay safe and are cared for in the workplace.
Boosting Confidence Levels
Another positive outcome of training your employees for emergencies is that it will increase their confidence levels in all aspects of their lives, not just emergency prevention. Providing your employees with additional skills can improve their job performance, which in turn can increase productivity and sales.
The investment of paying for the time, effort, and expertise of your employees' CPR and first aid training can prove to be fruitful for the whole organization.
Additional Steps You Can Take for Workplace Safety
So, what additional steps can you take to increase workplace safety and awareness?
Your office should have an effective way to communicate and alert employees and emergency services during a violent event or other emergency.
911Cellular offers workplace communication solutions for both emergency and non-emergency scenarios.
Interested in learning more about 911Cellular solutions? Contact us today!