A Business Owner’s Perspective on Safety, Risk, and What It Really Means to Have Your Team’s Back
Amanda Mayo, Founder & CEO
As business owners, we spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about protecting our businesses.
We invest in insurance, cybersecurity, financial controls, legal counsel, and trusted professional partners (hello from your HR partner!).
We evaluate risks, develop processes, and make thoughtful decisions to protect everything we’ve worked so hard to build.
But sometimes, protecting your business looks a little different.
Sometimes, it looks like a can of pepper spray.
When Workplace Safety Becomes Personal
A while back, one of our consultants was assaulted in an elevator while visiting a client site.
It was deeply upsetting. Not just because something frightening had happened to a member of our team, but because it was a reminder that the people who represent our business every day can encounter risks that aren’t always within our control.
Our consultants spend a significant amount of time working onsite with clients. They travel between locations, walk through parking garages, visit unfamiliar buildings, and sometimes work outside traditional business hours.
Like many business owners, I can’t control every environment my employees encounter.
But I can control how seriously I take their safety.
At our next team meeting, I brought pepper spray and offered it to anyone who wanted one for their bag or vehicle.
It wasn’t a grand gesture. It wasn’t an elaborate safety initiative.
It was simply one way of saying, “Your safety matters to me, and I want you to feel supported.”
What stayed with me was how much that gesture meant to the team. There was genuine concern for their colleague, appreciation for the conversation, and a shared recognition that looking out for one another is part of who we are.
Taking Safety Beyond Policies and Procedures
The conversation didn’t end there.
Later, another consultant shared concerns about a potentially unsafe encounter in a parking lot.
Once again, it reinforced something important: safety isn’t something we can address once, check off a list, and assume we’ve handled.
Every quarter, our team gets together in person for a potluck. These gatherings are intentionally focused on connection, laughter, and spending time together outside the day-to-day demands of serving our clients.
For our next gathering, I decided to do something a little different.
We hired a local business owner who operates a martial arts and self-defense studio to lead a mini self-defense workshop for our team.
We learned about situational awareness, recognizing potential risks, and practical ways to respond to uncomfortable or threatening situations. We even practiced some basic self-defense techniques.
And we had an absolute blast.
There was laughter, encouragement, a little friendly awkwardness, and a whole lot of newfound confidence.
Everyone walked away feeling a little stronger, more aware, and more empowered.
But for me, the most meaningful part wasn’t the training itself.
It was the message behind it.
We care about you. Your well-being matters. And we’re willing to invest in it.
Protecting Your People Is Protecting Your Business
Here’s where I think business owners have an opportunity to look at risk a little differently.
We often think about business assets in terms of things we can insure, measure, or put on a balance sheet.
Our buildings. Equipment. Technology. Intellectual property. Financial resources.
Now, I know what you might expect from someone who has spent her career in HR. A conversation about OSHA, safety policies, training requirements, and compliance. And yes, all of those things matter. But that’s not the conversation I want to have today.
I want to talk about something that doesn’t always fit neatly into a policy, procedure, or compliance checklist: the responsibility we have as business owners to genuinely look out for our people.
The employees who care for our clients, solve problems, build relationships, protect our reputation, and keep our organizations moving forward.
They aren’t assets in the traditional financial sense. They’re human beings who bring their experience, judgment, relationships, and commitment to our organizations.
And their well-being is directly connected to the health of our businesses.
When employees feel supported, heard, and genuinely cared for, we create the conditions for stronger trust, engagement, and retention.
That’s not just good for people.
It’s good business.
Sometimes the Right Business Decision Isn’t About Billable Hours
At FIT HR, our consultants are responsible for serving clients and delivering excellent work. Like any professional services firm, we pay attention to utilization, revenue, and the financial health of our business.
Those things matter.
But they will never matter more than someone’s safety.
If one of our consultants feels uncomfortable visiting a client site, I want to know.
If the surrounding environment has changed, if an employee has experienced something concerning, or if they simply don’t feel safe, I want them to feel confident speaking up.
And I will have those conversations with our clients.
Not as an accusation or a demand, but as a partnership. How can we work together to make sure everyone feels safe and supported? Are there adjustments we can make to scheduling, access, parking, or the way services are delivered?
Sometimes the right decision may mean changing how we serve a client.
And yes, sometimes that may affect revenue.
That’s a decision I’m willing to make.
Because protecting your business should never come at the expense of the people who make it successful.
Risk Navigation: A More Realistic Approach to Protecting Your Business
There’s a lot of conversation in business about risk management and risk mitigation.
And while those are important concepts, I’ve always believed that risk navigation is a more realistic way to think about the decisions we make as business owners.
We can’t control every situation. We can’t eliminate every potential threat. And no matter how thoughtfully we plan, unexpected challenges will always arise.
What we can do is recognize risks, listen to concerns, make informed decisions, and adjust when circumstances change.
That’s what risk navigation looks like to me.
It’s not about having a perfect plan for every possible scenario. It’s about building the awareness, relationships, and flexibility to respond thoughtfully when something happens.
In our case, that meant having open conversations, providing practical safety resources, investing in training, and making sure our consultants knew their concerns would be taken seriously.
And just as importantly, it meant reinforcing that they never had to choose between their personal safety and meeting a business expectation.
That’s a leadership decision, not simply a safety procedure.
The Return on Investment You Can’t Always Measure
I couldn’t tell you the financial return on the pepper spray we purchased or the self-defense workshop we hosted.
There’s no spreadsheet that captures the value of an employee feeling safer walking to their car.
Or the confidence that comes from knowing your employer will listen when something doesn’t feel right.
Or the trust that’s built when employees see that leadership’s commitment to their well-being goes beyond words.
But I can tell you that those moments mattered.
They strengthened our connection as a team. They reinforced the culture we’re intentionally building. And they demonstrated that our values aren’t just something we talk about.
They’re something we act on.
That’s a return on investment I believe in.
A Different Way to Think About Workplace Safety
October is a natural time to think about business planning and risk navigation as we prepare for the coming year. And with National Safety Month in June, there’s another opportunity to revisit how we support the people who keep our organizations running.
But employee safety shouldn’t be a seasonal conversation.
It should be part of how we lead.
For business owners and organizational leaders, that might mean asking a few simple questions:
- Do our employees feel comfortable telling us when they feel unsafe?
- Have we considered the risks employees may encounter beyond our immediate workplace?
- Are we listening when someone raises a concern, even if there isn’t an obvious solution?
- Are we willing to adjust processes, schedules, or client arrangements when safety is at stake?
- Are we investing in practical prevention, awareness, and training rather than waiting for something to happen?
Not every organization needs a self-defense workshop. The right approach depends on the work, the environment, and the risks employees actually face.
But every organization can create an environment where employees know their safety matters.
Having Your Team’s Back Is a Leadership Decision
One of the things I’ve learned as a business owner is that protecting your business and caring for your people aren’t competing priorities.
They’re deeply connected.
We can have strong financial controls, thoughtful risk navigation strategies, excellent insurance coverage, and trusted professional partners.
And we should.
But we also need to pay attention to the human side of risk.
Sometimes that means having a difficult conversation. Sometimes it means changing a process. Sometimes it means investing in training.
And sometimes, it starts with a simple gesture that tells your team you’re paying attention.
Because having your team’s back isn’t just something you say. It’s something you show.
At FIT HR, we believe thoughtful people practices and sound business decisions belong together. If you’re looking at ways to strengthen employee safety, leadership, or workplace practices, we’re here to help you navigate them.