Small businesses are short on time, resources and personnel. These constraints, as research has shown, can contribute to higher risks of work-related injuries in small business settings. Although small businesses employ 26 per cent of people covered by the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB), they account for half of all work-related traumatic deaths and 31 per cent of accepted lost-time WSIB claims.
That disproportionate share of work-related injury is the reason why small businesses are considered high priority targets for support within the Ontario prevention system. Yet the lack of time, resources and personnel available in small businesses is also what makes it hard for them to take part in programs designed to help improve their occupational health and safety (OHS) structures.
The good news, however, is that even the small businesses that find it challenging to participate in such programs may still stand to gain from their limited involvement. That was what a study team at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) found when it conducted interviews with the small businesses that signed up to take part in a version of Ontario’s Health and Safety Excellence Program (HSEP), an incentive health and safety program launched by the WSIB in 2019.
Although some of the small businesses we interviewed found it hard to find the time or the personnel needed to complete the program, most gained something from it,
says Dr. Basak Yanar, co-lead of the study and author of a new report titled Participation in the Health and Safety Excellence Small Business Program: Understanding small business motivations and needs.
“We interviewed participants when they started the program and again a year later. And over that year, we heard how the program enabled the small businesses to make positive changes to their OHS programs—whether that was to set up their policies or implement the practices to build a health and safety culture,” adds Yanar.
Even the small businesses that couldn’t complete the program found value in it, notes IWH adjunct scientist and study co-lead Dr. Cameron Mustard. “Almost everyone we spoke with found value in the content. Some might not have had the time and resources to complete all the program requirements. Or some might have said there was potential value for them but at a later date when other priorities weren’t so pressing,” says Mustard, former IWH president and senior scientist. “But no one said the program content was not helpful.”
Perspectives of small business participants
The study team set out to learn about the motivations and experiences of small businesses in Ontario that took part in the HSEP Small Business Program (see sidebar), an offshoot created in response to the low participation rate of small businesses in the original HSEP. From April to October 2022, an IWH team co-led by Yanar and Mustard recruited 34 representatives from 32 small businesses that were in the program for a first round of interviews. A year later, 15 of those representatives agreed to follow-up interviews. The small sample reflected the challenge the research team faced in reaching this sector, notes Yanar.
The first interviews focused on the firms’ reasons for taking part in the program, their OHS needs and OHS knowledge, as well as their perceptions of the program and the role that the OHS consultants assigned to them could play. The follow-up interviews focused the firms’ progress a year later, their perception of the support provided by their OHS consultants, as well as their experiences participating in the program, including the barriers and facilitators they encountered.
The team made several observations:
Attrition versus completion— Although the study conducted follow-up interviews for just less than half of the initial interview sample, the majority of those interviewed in the second round achieved the first-year goals of completing the health and safety topics they committed to work on.
Genuine motivation to improve OHS—Although firms were offered rebates on their compensation premiums as an incentive to complete the topics, the representatives interviewed did not speak of the rebates as a primary reason for joining or continuing the program. Rather, they were equally motivated by the benefits of improving OHS, such as improved OHS knowledge, better employee retention and greater company reputation.
Resource constraints a major barrier—The businesses that did not or struggled to complete the program cited reasons such as multiple competing priorities, and the lack of time and available staff.
Limited OHS knowledge—Some small businesses had very limited OHS knowledge when they started the program. They may benefit from an even more basic orientation to OHS roles and responsibilities than what was laid out in the HSEP topics, the authors note.
Factors that supported program completion
In their interviews, the team also probed for factors that helped firms stay in the program. They found a few key facilitators:
Having the support of a dedicated OHS consultant—The ability to turn to someone as questions arose or as progress slowed was a major facilitator for most of the interviewees. Program participants said they benefited from having someone to answer questions, share policy templates or even help them overcome momentary urges to drop out. “One business representative told us of a time when they felt they couldn’t complete the program requirements,” says Yanar. “They spoke to the OHS consultant, who broke it down into small tasks and suggested one that they could tackle next. And with that kind of hands-on support, that firm was able to complete the program.”
Leadership support and visibility— Although most of the study participants said they had senior management support to join the program, a key facilitator to make OHS improvements was when company leaders made resources available for program implementation. Those resources included the time, money and staffing (in particular, OHS staffing) needed to make change. Leaders also made a difference when they set an example for staff by communicating regularly about the importance of safety or by staying engaged in reviewing new OHS policies and providing feedback.
Engagement of the JHSC or health and safety representative—Some businesses started the program without a functioning joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or a designated health and safety representative. Some participants credited the program for helping them provide training to committee members or establish the health and safety role during their first year. That in turn helped the firms ramp up their progress in the program, the research team heard. We heard about small businesses that found it helpful to involve their JHSCs in identifying needs and selecting future topics to work on,
says Mustard. We also heard that having a designated OHS person who was visible throughout the organization, even if the business owner was not, went a long way to demonstrate that OHS was a priority to the firm,
adds Yanar.
Relevance beyond the program
The insights gained from this study, about the perspectives and experiences of small businesses, can be relevant well beyond the particulars of the HSEP, says Yanar. Although our finding about the challenges of time and staffing constraints are not new, some of our other findings can be useful to those who provide OHS support and services to small businesses,
says Yanar.
She notes in particular the finding about the importance of a personal contact to support small businesses and help them fill in knowledge gaps. Small businesses may not know how to plan for or start the process of change. They need clear guidance on role expectations, processes and the time required to make OHS improvements. All these knowledge gaps are where direct, one-on-one support can make a big difference,
she adds.
The sooner this support is provided in the life course of a small business, the more likely it will build a safety culture into the fabric of the business.