Talking shop with... Jeffrey Johnson
By Seth Mendelson
Published in Grocery Headquarters: October 1, 2008
Shoes For Crews’ director of supermarket sales discusses the importance of preventing employee slip and fall accidents.
Is there a lack of awareness on the part of grocery retailers in regard to accidental in-store slips and falls among employees?
Jeffrey Johnson: There is definitely a lack of awareness with grocery retailers on how simple it is to help prevent slip and fall accidents. Although most retailers attempt to take basic safety measures to protect their employees, they are now just beginning to seek out additional solutions. Most people are not aware that there is a low-cost solution for their employees that can help eliminate these costly slip and fall accidents. If they are not wearing a shoe that grips on wet, slippery surfaces, then they are at a much greater risk of having an accident.
Although merchants are persistent in housekeeping efforts to ensure floors are kept clean, dry and free of obstruction, I think many retailers miss things that can have an impact on employee safety. There is still more that can be done, such as mandating slip-resistant footwear. The technology is out there that will ensure that employees will not slip and fall, regardless if they are stocking shelves or cleaning up spills in store aisles. At the store level, even though most retailers have the best of intentions, they don’t always see everything that happens on the floor.
Is safety training an issue in grocery?
Executives and store managers alike are aware that more can be done to prevent slip and fall accidents in the workplace. They are diligent in training employees to clean up spills quickly to protect customers from injury, but without the proper footwear the employees can suffer an injury during the clean-up process. Safety videos and training materials specific to the grocery and supermarket industry are more readily available for management, covering topics such as; injury prevention, reducing unsafe acts of employees and preventing slips and falls.
How can a footwear safety program help improve the bottom line at a grocery store?
A supermarket that has 200 to 300 locations and 20,000 to 30,000 employees is probably spending somewhere between $3 million to $10 million a year on employee slip and fall accidents alone. If the average supermarket operates on a 1.5 % to 2% profit margin, reducing or eliminating any accident—whether it’s a slip and fall, a cut or burn—will help the bottom line. A footwear safety program can help a retailer save money on claims and accidents and also lower workers’ compensation premiums.
Are there misconceptions about the expense of a safety program, especially with the current economic conditions?
Of course. There are a range of safety solutions in the market and some costs can run into the millions of dollars. There are many aspects of safety that retailers need to pay attention to if they are going to be successful and keep their work force safe. Slips and falls account for 30% of accidents in supermarkets. When I reach out to risk managers or human resource representatives, the first thing they comment is that they would never have guessed that so much importance needed to be focused on footwear and that it is one of the first steps to ensuring a slip-free workplace.
What types of programs are offered by Shoes For Crews?
Our payroll deduction program is a very popular alternative for employees wanting to spread out a $30 expense over several weeks. This program allows employees to have the deduction taken directly from their paycheck making it easy and affordable for the employee.
What separates Shoes For Crews from other slip-resistant shoe companies?
We have been the leader in the industry for 25 years. We recently finished reengineering all our manufacturing facilities and processes. We constantly test and redesign our footwear to find the very best perform ance available. Our shoes are independently tested several times a year, along with about a dozen of our competitors. We consistently score significantly higher than any other supplier and most recently beat the closest competitor by more than 100%.
The bottom line is that retailers are losing millions of dollars from slips and falls that can be prevented. We provide an inexpensive solution to reduce this costly problem.
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