Proper safety training could help save your restaurant

Did you know that back in 2012, over 616,000 restaurants opened nationwide?

That’s 616,000 restaurants similar to yours. That is a heck of a lot of competition. However, some resources quote that up to 60 percent restaurants close or change ownership in the first year, which means that roughly 369,000 restaurants closed within their first year of business. What’s worse is that about 80 percent (492,000 restaurants) close within five years.

As an entrepreneur, the odds are against you.

So, how can InsuranceHub help? You can start by not letting the fact that you’re under-insured put you out of business. Remember that accidents happen. It’s a fact.

For example, if you had to guess how many restaurant employee injuries there are in a year, what would you guess?

In a recent year, as many as 236,000 non-fatal accidents occurred in the “food services and drinking places” industry. Would you be surprised to know that the majority of these injuries were to adolescents that work part-time while going to school?

The biggest reason for restaurant accidents: part-time seasonal helpers don’t get the same safety training that everyone else gets.

Why don’t part-time season employees get proper training?

Quite often, the excuse is that there’s not enough time for proper safety training. Can you relate to this?

Do you know what the biggest injuries were?

  • Cuts
  • Strains
  • Sprains
  • Punctures
  • Fractures
  • Burns

Then, if we combine these part-time worker injuries with the common injuries sustained by employees and customers below, you have a recipe for workers compensation claims and lawsuits that could put a new restaurant out of business:

  • Slips
  • Trips
  • Falls

restaurant safety training

As a restaurant owner, what can you do to protect yourself?

Choose an insurance agent like those at InsuranceHub that understand restaurants. You face challenges and perils that are specific to the food and drink industry, don’t you? Don’t settle for a run of the mill insurance agent. Get yourself an insurance agent that specializes in restaurant insurance.

Make sense?

InsuranceHub understands restaurant, bar and tavern owners. Why not reach out and schedule a free consultation? What else can you do? We already discussed the importance of training. Don’t fall into the “no time for training” trap.

Remember the 236,000 accidents each year? Those restaurant owners fell for the “no time for training” mindset hook, line, and sinker. We suggest implementing ongoing safety training for all employees. Especially new part-time or seasonal employees.

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Hold weekly safety meetings.
  • Use safety video training for all new hires that they can watch before working on-site.
  • Team new inexperienced employees with a more experienced employee
  • Here are some restaurant kitchen safety tips.
  • Rotate your employees through repetitive tasks that could cause repetitive stress injuries.
  • Get a restaurant insurance checkup with your agent.

Yes, these measures will take time and cost you money upfront. However, think of the cost of not doing this. What will it cost you for loss of labor, loss of production and workers comp settlements?

Safety pays off big dividends in the restaurant business. Remember that 80% of all restaurants go out of business within the first 5 years. Doesn’t it make sense to stack the cards in your favor by running a safe kitchen and working with an insurance agent that specializes in insuring restaurants?