Category Archives: Business

Online Tool Measures Stress Levels in a Workplace

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Marijana Dabic

In partnership with the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers have created an online survey tool to help companies measure workplace stress levels. The free tool, StressAssess, allows workplaces to anonymously gather key information about work conditions and psychosocial hazards.

StressAssess guides administrators through a five-step process via instructions, templates and reminders. After employers complete the survey, a summary report is generated, which provides comparisons against validated national averages and practical ideas to help workplaces address identified concerns.

Managing workplace stress is important, as it goes a long way toward creating a healthy and happy workforce. Common job stressors include a heavy workload, intense pressure to perform at high levels, job insecurity, long work hours, excessive travel, office politics and conflicts with co-workers. While dealing with stress is a normal part of everyday life, the following are some adverse symptoms employees can experience as a result of recurring workplace stress:

Insomnia
Anxiety or depression
Low morale
Short tempers
Headaches
Stomach or back problems

To protect your workers, consider using StressAssess to learn a number of useful methods for reducing workplace stressors. While the survey tool is meant to diagnose workplace factors, the website also includes a personal edition for individuals interested in measuring their own level and sources of stress.

Creating Pre-incident Fire Plans

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Marijana Dabic

Recent fires in British Columbia have contributed to one of the worst fire seasons on record, leading to more than 12,984 sq. km of damage and illustrating the importance of proper preparation. Not only can fires cause major property damage, but they can also endanger your employees, business operations and supply chains. However, you can prepare your business ahead of time by making a comprehensive fire plan. To help with the creation process, consider the following:

Consider how your business would be impacted following a fire. Conduct a risk assessment to understand potential exposures and plan accordingly. Contact a third party for help with your assessment if needed.
Contact your local first responders for help. Building a relationship with your local fire department can save valuable time in the event of a disaster. Moreover, you can exchange useful information like your building’s floor plans and fire escape routes to help create a fire plan. In fact, in some provinces, businesses are required to work with local fire departments when creating their plans.
Create a communication plan that accounts for your employees, clients, vendors and other stakeholders. In the face of a disaster, communication is key. As such, it’s important to establish protocols for communicating with employees and partners. At a minimum, you’ll need to know how you will provide status updates and next steps during and after a fire. Consider creating a crisis management team to keep you organized.
Consider your business continuity options. Any disruptions to your workplace, supply chains or vendors can cause costly delays. Work with a qualified insurance broker to discuss policy options that help you recover quickly following a disaster.

Fires are an ongoing concern wherever there is dry, hot weather, making careful planning and dedicated insurance a must. Contact your insurance broker today for coverage and loss prevention strategies.

3 Questions to Ask When Addressing Sexual Harassment at Your Business

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Marijana Dabic

It’s always been important to protect your business and employees from sexual harassment, but recent high-profile cases show the importance of re-examining this topic at your business. Social movements like “Me Too” have drawn attention to sexual harassment in the workplace, resulting in a growing number of misconduct allegations. These allegations can lead to a wide variety of claims as well as serious financial and reputational damage.

Insurance companies, courts and regulatory agencies will begin to examine businesses closely to ensure they take sexual harassment seriously and act to protect their employees and customers. The following are some questions you need to consider when addressing sexual harassment at your business:

How do you encourage employees to report inappropriate conduct? The best way to address sexual harassment allegations is to respond quickly. Regularly remind employees that there won’t be any retaliation for reporting inappropriate behaviour. You should also ensure there are multiple ways for employees to make anonymous reports to management.
Does your employee harassment training address your workplace’s unique traits? A standard workplace policy is a good starting point for addressing sexual harassment, but you should also think about how your employees interact with co-workers and customers.
Do your insurance policies include exclusions for sexual harassment? Many commercial general liability policies exclude claims for sexual harassment. Depending on the policy wording, sexual misconduct-related events may or may not be covered, so it’s important to be specific and ask questions during the underwriting process.

Contact your insurance broker for more information.

Professional Liability Insurance for Design-build Firms

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Marijana Dabic

Design-build is a project-delivery method that provides an owner with one point of contact for both the design and construction elements of a project. This process has gained popularity in recent years largely due to its simplicity, affordability and speed.

While the design-build method has many benefits, it can expose firms to risks they wouldn’t otherwise experience during the traditional design-bid-build method. As such, it’s essential that design build firms understand all of the risk associated with the design-build process.

Unique Design-build Exposures

Unlike the more traditional design-bid-build project-delivery method, there isn’t a clear distinction between the firms performing the construction work and the architects and engineers offering their professional services. This means design builders are accountable for the accuracy of the plans, the execution of construction and the safety of the job site.

As such, design-builders can be held liable for workplace accidents, specification errors, material failures, construction errors and delays. Essentially, by taking on the design elements of a project, firms inherit more professional liability. These liabilities can result in severe financial losses.

When it comes to managing all of the new risks the design-build process brings, general liability policies are simply not enough. Under most commercial general liability policies, professional liability exposures are excluded from coverage.

In particular, claims related to the act of preparing blueprints, reports, surveys, field orders, change orders, specifications and other professional services could all be excluded from coverage. Professional liability policies are designed specifically to fill in gaps caused by general liability limitations.

For design-builders, the most effective way to protect against exposures is to secure unique insurance tailored to the sector. Specifically, professional liability policies can the proper coverage for design-build firms.

These policies provide coverage for claims stemming from an actual or alleged act when performing a professional service. Working in conjunction with other policies, professional liability insurance is a critical component to a design-builder’s risk management program. What’s more, working with a qualified insurance broker, these policies can be tailored to meet the unique needs of design-build firms.

More Information

Design-build construction is an increasingly popular approach with many benefits. However, using this method increases professional liability exposures and creates a variety of risk management challenges. When taking on design-build projects, firms have a lot to consider, including performance guarantees, licensing requirements and appropriate coverage. Contact your insurance broker today to learn about your firm’s identification options, review your exposures and bolster your risk management options.

Recognizing and Responding to Workplace Impairment

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Marijana Dabic

When workers are impaired on the job, whether by fatigue, the use of drugs or the consumption of alcohol, there can be serious consequences. Specifically, impairment of any kind can directly affect one’s ability to perform their duties in a safe manner.

As an employer, it’s your utmost responsibility to maintain a safe workplace. As such, it’s important to know how to identify and respond to workplace impairment. The following are some common signs, symptoms and behaviours to look out for:

Personality changes or erratic behaviour
A noticeable decline in appearance or personal hygiene
Poor performance or changes in work quality
Poor balance and unsteady walking
Consistent lateness, absenteeism or reduced productivity

When it comes to responding to impairment incidents, it’s critical to remember the scope of an employer’s obligations. It’s not an employer’s job to diagnose an employee’s dependency problem. However, employers can observe changes in attendance, performance and behaviour, and respond accordingly. Employers need to act in non-judgmental ways, provide support and practise empathy. Be sure to focus on solutions and, if disciplinary action is necessary, follow through.

Following any incident, employers and supervisors should file an incident report. In general, these reports outline the incident, identify the employee’s actions, detail what was discussed, list who was notified of the incident, note what actions were taken and recommend follow-up steps.

If you are considering building a policy around workplace substance testing, it is recommended that you seek legal counsel. If handled improperly, substance testing can infringe on employee rights and lead to serious issues and even legal recourse.

Category Archives: Business

Online Tool Measures Stress Levels in a Workplace

Creating Pre-incident Fire Plans

3 Questions to Ask When Addressing Sexual Harassment at Your Business

Professional Liability Insurance for Design-build Firms

Recognizing and Responding to Workplace Impairment

FOLLOW OUR BLOG

ABEX - AFFILIATED BROKERS EXCHANGE IS ON FACEBOOK.

CONNECT WITH US ON LINKEDIN