The notice read: “An inspirational keynote speech preferably from someone who's had an accident. A leave-behind message to always be mindful and follow procedures. A flat fee of $(cheap). No phone calls please.”
Safety is fast becoming the best tool to recruit, hire and retain good people. Simply put, when yours is the best and safest place to work, you will attract and retain the best employees. But if your employees identify with even a few points on the list below, you will have some work to do in finding good people and, more importantly, hanging on to the good ones you have.
Safety managers and front-line supervisors want employees to be more active and vocal about safety. They want employees to be more engaged in the decisions that the employees make and the results they get. They want more active participation in reporting, in actively talking about safety and a much higher involvement in being vocal at safety meetings.
Every job has its ups and downs. Employees can feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of responsibility and workload. Then add in paperwork, Job Hazard Assessments, new OH&S guidelines, new reporting as part of the corporate re-focus on safety and you have a workforce that can feel stressed. Responsibility can be demanding. But taking a coffee break of fifteen minutes per day to self-improve can reduce stress and feelings of being overwhelmed.
There is no other department in your organization that brings together every single staff member as often as a safety meeting does. No one should be exempt from attending safety meetings. Safety applies to everyone. Even the receptionist should be involved in safety meetings.
The purpose of a safety meeting may have started as a legal requirement but have you thought about the value and the huge benefit that a well-run safety meeting can bring to your organization? Let’s start with three benefits that your safety meetings create ... but only if you do them right:
So, are you responsible for your own safety? It would seem elementary. But the safety whiners, the one’s who think that the whole idea of safety is just big pain in the ass, don’t get that. They expect that the company will supply them with their eye protection, hearing protection, gloves and will pony up cash for other parts of the required and mandated safety equipment. And just like a rental car, they treat the company-purchased safety protection in the same way.
When consulting with companies to help them improve their safety meetings, I routinely meet with safety managers, supervisors and foremen in a round-table discussions. In these round-tables, I get a better understanding of staff participation levels, identify what is working well and what is not and establish safety culture baselines.
You’ve sat at the back of the room at safety meetings, arms crossed, watching the clock on the wall, going over in your head the things you still had to do that day and waiting for the meeting to be over. You’ve even secretly hoped that no one had any questions so you could simply get out of the meeting and back to work.
There used to be a time when safety was considered an expense (if you’re still thinking this way, it may be time for you to retire). The days of “we don’t have to the budget to spend on safety” are quickly coming to an end. Safety is not an expense - it’s an investment. And simply put, the better you get at safety, the better your company will do financially.
I have deep convictions for safety. It doesn’t matter to me what others think about my safety values. I will do what I want as long as it keeps me and those around me safe. I have been scolded and chastised to just relax when it comes to safety. I turn a deaf ear to that suggestion. I drink the Kool-Aid. I have bought in. And honestly, my convictions for safety don’t change based on whom I work with. Some companies hire me to consult about improving their safety meetings. Others hire me to speak on personal leadership in safety. My values on safety stay the same.
