Bayram UysalP&O-advisor SIMON scholenKnowing why an RI&E is so important. That matters more.
The RI&E as part of good employment practices.
SIMON Schools offers primary education based on Islamic principles to children in the central and eastern parts of the Netherlands. A total of approximately 260 employees work within this organisation. HumanCapitalCare has teamed up with SIMON Schools to organise training for prevention officers and school principals based on the updated RI&E. “This gives them a clear understanding of why the RI&E is important and what the role of a prevention officer entails.”
With ten primary schools spread across the central and eastern parts of the Netherlands, SIMON Schools is also affected by the national teacher shortage and regional recruitment problems. To remain an attractive employer, the foundation focuses on good secondary employment conditions, training and career opportunities, and policies that take into account the different stages of life of its employees. The ambition is to be and remain an attractive and development-oriented workplace, while maintaining and strengthening its existing good employment practices. The risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) and training for prevention officers and school principals are part of this.
We are tightening up our prevention policy thanks to an update of the RI&E. That matters more.
Reason for new RI&E
With an outdated RI&E, an organisation does not have a clear picture of the (current) occupational health risks its employees face, which means it lacks a sound and up-to-date basis for its occupational health and safety and prevention policy. At the request of SIMON Schools, HumanCapitalCare updated the RI&E for all schools and provided training for all prevention officers, who are key figures within the organisation for working on a safe and healthy work environment.
The reason for a new RI&E was outdated documents, personnel changes among the prevention officers, new locations and the desire to involve school principals more actively in the RI&E. The aim was to comply with legislation and regulations, identify risks in good time and thus promote the health and safety of employees and pupils, and thereby support good education.
A learning organisation with shared responsibility
During the RI&E rounds, the risks were identified for each school. No serious issues were identified during the rounds. Compared to previous years, progress has been made, but vigilance remains essential.
Training for prevention officers with practical tools
The examples from the rounds were also used in the additional training for the prevention officers and their school principals. The training not only provided knowledge and awareness for the prevention officers and school principals, but also clear role agreements and practical follow-up tools. For example, the policy documents are now updated at the schools, and prevention is actively embedded in daily practice. Where necessary, employees receive instructions on topics such as work posture. Preventive policy has also been tightened in the area of absenteeism: school principals were recently retrained in absenteeism and sustainable employability, and in conducting absence interviews, under the guidance of HR and relevant advisers.
HumanCapitalCare has been an expert in safe working practices for years
“We asked HumanCapitalCare for the training because they know us best and have been experts in safe working practices for years. The prevention officers and principals now really understand why the RI&E is important and what the role of the prevention officers actually entails,” adds Bayram Uysal, HR adviser and coordinating prevention officer at SIMON Schools. “But they also know what needs to be done and how, and we have made agreements about continuity. Prevention officers are not responsible for everything. They support the employer to achieve optimal working conditions, advise and work closely with the occupational health and safety experts and the Joint Participation Council (JPC). They act as a bridge between the employer and the employees to prevent health complaints and accidents together.”
Extra alertness
“I also found that positive to see,” says Suzanne Otten, senior labour & organisation adviser at HumanCapitalCare enthusiastically. “Because when you are in your work environment every day, you run the risk of finding things that are not in order normal. The training has also brought about a cultural change. Principals and prevention officers now work more closely together at the schools, and the regional coordination agreements made focus on knowledge sharing, mutual support and cross-school themes.”
At the helm
The RI&E is a structural part of the annual policy and occupational health and safety cycle. According to Bayram, the organisation is now better able to monitor this cycle itself: “The prevention officers have an overview, the risks have been identified, and we have a workable action plan for each school. HumanCapitalCare remains available in the background, but ownership lies with us. That was exactly the intention. Through this approach, SIMON Schools is building a sustainable, safe and future-oriented work environment in which the well-being of employees and pupils is central.”
Reducing risks starts with insight
We want to matter more
