Let’s count down the Top 10 reasons why every employee should buy-in to the safety program and to own safety as a personal value.
There are two ways to do every job: safely or unsafely. That is the choice in every moment of every day. It’s a simple choice. It’s the same choice as voluntarily buying-in to the safety program and being forced to comply against your will.
Employees need to understand the benefits of safety. Let’s count down the Top 10 reasons why every employee should buy-in to the safety program and to own safety as a personal value:
10You maintain high production/performance numbers. You know that the greatest hindrance to production is a stop-work issue. A safety incident can crash production and performance numbers. To ensure that smooth production continues uninterrupted, buy-in to the safety program. Get others to do the same. Production stays high. Good performance is praised and admired.
9You become a person of influence. Being forced to comply with safety is just about the least you can do on a job site. Exercising your right to choose safety shows others that you have courage and the strength to make good choices. Every team has an influencer - regardless of whether they hold management or supervisory positions. Become the one person that others take their cues from.
8You set yourself up for promotion. Truthfully, what employer would promote an employee who made stupid decisions and risked safety on the job? Seriously. If you want to get promoted, buy-in to the safety program. Those who share the corporate values are those promoted to supervisory or management positions. Promotions mean more money and more influence.
7You get positive recognition. Awards, commendations and bonuses go to good performers. They especially go to those who are in line with the corporate safety values. Companies don’t give awards to the safety cowboys, whiners and complainers. If you want to set yourself up to be attractive to other companies and employers, buy-in to the safety program. More companies are choosing employees who own safety as a personal value.
6You remove friction and drama. When you choose to buy-in to safety, you remove the need for your boss to chastise and scold you. You shift the conversation away from poor choices. When you choose safety voluntarily, you aren’t singled out. Creating situations where you are scolded makes you look inept. Don't force your supervisor to put you in that position. Look smart voluntarily. Remove the friction and drama with your boss.
5You maintain better job security. When hard times hit, layoffs occur. For a company, it’s tough to choose who to keep and who to layoff. So, don’t make it easy for your employer to choose you for layoff. Be a top performer with strong safety values. Be someone others look up to and you will improve your job security when times are tough.
4You don’t interrupt your retirement plan. There are enough threats to good retirement plans already. The economic downturn of 2008 was one - and you had no control over it. But, you do have control over your ability to stay healthy. If you want to ensure that you and your family can enjoy your golden years, you had better have a strategy to make it to retirement healthy. Safety can deliver that.
3You have a plan to stick around. Without choosing to buy-in to safety, you are leaving everything to chance. But, when you buy-in to safety, nothing is left to chance. In the same way that you plan for your retirement, with safety, you purposely plan to be around a long time. When you buy-in to safety, neither your health nor your cash-flow are left to chance.
2Your family worries less. You want to protect your family: financially, physically and emotionally. Continued employment protects your family financially. Excellent health protects your family physically. Knowing that you will always make the safe decisions at work protects your family emotionally. No one ever purposely wants to burden their families. Most do it accidentally. Choose safety.
1You maintain a positive cash flow. You may have insurance if you’re injured at work. But, an off-the-job injury leaves you no recourse, no insurance. If you’re not embracing safety at work, you’ll do it less so off-the-job. If you get hurt off-the-job and can’t work, cash-flow stops dead. If you’re going to take risks off-the-job, you had better have a war-chest of money set aside. Choose safety and you will never have to worry about cash-flow.
Now, share this list with every one of your co-workers. Stop offering up excuses for choosing anything outside of safety. Your argument doesn’t hold any water.
Kevin Burns is a management consultant, safety speaker and author of "The Perfect Safety Meeting." If you really want to drive the safety message home, consider Kevin to speak at your next safety event. He delivers engaging and entertaining keynote safety presentations for everyone: from front-line staff to senior management. He helps people see the light when it comes to buying-in to the safety program.
