We find that most of the organisations we speak to have identified lone working as an issue for their business, and have different ways of tackling it.
Some may use a buddy system, where lone working employees may call to check on each other throughout the day; others ask their lone working staff to check in with a manager following appointments. A few avoid lone working entirely – usually by partnering two members of staff to attend appointments together.
These systems all have a big plus: they are cheap to operate. And, especially in these difficult economic times, it is understandable that this is a big deciding factor for UK businesses when they are considering their lone worker protection policy.
However, there can be problems with all of these lone working policies.
The first two are prone to human error – what if a ‘buddy’ forgets to call their lone worker colleague? Or a manager is busy, and misses that their lone worker hasn’t called in? Normally this wouldn’t be an issue because emergency situations are thankfully rare. But if there was an incident, could you say that your lone worker safety system was entirely robust?
Partnering staff can also a problem, particularly for smaller businesses and charities, because their resource levels are much lower and they cannot afford to send two members of staff out on visits/ appointments.
Different systems work for each organisation. Clearly the most important factor for each business is ensuring staff safety, and implementing a lone worker safety system that matches the needs of the workforce.
An automated alarm system, like Lookout Call, can help you do this. And because our high quality system is license based, it is a low-cost and flexible option to meet your business’ needs.
Contact us to take a free trial of lone worker safety system and see how Lookout Call can benefit you.