Kevin Burns Blog

Safety is not argued as an economics case. It is presented as an enforcement initiative. (Excerpt taken from Kevin’s new e-book, Running With Scissors - 10 Reasons To Invest in Safety In Slow Times.)

Shooting down one person’s imperfect safety ideas in favor of your own imperfect safety ideas still yield the same results: good people getting hurt. If only social media were treated like safety conferences, or social events, or wine-and-cheese gatherings. People would be considerate of others’ points-of-view. They would listen, consider and digest ideas. They would ask questions. They would be respectful and be willing to accept that perhaps, among all of these diverse minds and experiences, they might get a new perspective that challenges their own. But, it’s social media. Social media is apparently where points-of-view are defended, where others’ opinions are chastised - sometimes, even ridiculed. You’ve seen people offer their opinion to headlines without actually reading the entire article. That would never happen at a party or social event. There, people would be given consideration to finish explaining their idea. People would engage, listen, hear, exchange and probably learn something.

Your people deserve your best communication effort. Their safety depends on it. Zero-Speak. It’s not just a clever name. It’s a mindset and a safety communications philosophy. Zero-Speak is a way of ensuring that you communicate effectively with your people. To move you closer to the ultimate goal of your safety program requires effective communication. If you have to repeat yourself, your people aren't buying-in to what you're saying. They're tolerating safety rules. What you say and how you say it matters. You need to maximize your Zero-Speak opportunities. Here are four solid ways to begin implementing a Zero-Speak philosophy in your safety program:

A safety leader is someone who influences good decisions and positive behaviors. Safety leadership has nothing to do with being a manager or supervisor. You don’t have to hold a safety management position to be a safety leader. A safety leader is someone who influences good decisions and positive behaviors. Anyone can do it if they are willing to put the work in. And the benefits are huge: to you and the people you lead. Here are five ways that you can start to improve your own safety leadership skills right away.

Companies that invest in safety during economic downturns fare better, lower costs, reduce turnover and build a reputation as an employer of choice. When the economy lulls and work slows down, the first reaction may be to slash expenditures. That includes the safety budget. And, on paper, it may look like the right move. But it is a predictable move - one that research does not support as being successful long-term.

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.

You don’t need to harass your employees into improving safety. Once they own it, they will do it willingly. When professional athletes buy-in to the team’s vision for success, they become unstoppable. An excellent coach who touches his players one-on-one each day can help the players buy-in to the team vision and plan. When the coach gets buy-in from his players, they are more willing to do the right things more often and are less likely to do the wrong things. After all, it’s a team and every team member has a role and importance.

It’s called “safety management” for a reason. It’s made up of two parts: safety and management. You can’t do one without the other. Being a safety supervisor is a thankless job. It’s tough when it seems like the only one who loves you is mom - and even she has her days. Experienced safety supervisors can recall how tough it was to get crews to warm up to the new supervisor those first few months on the job.

When employees buy-in to safety, you focus less on what they do wrong and expect more that they will do right. It’s a fairly simple argument: when employees buy-in to the safety program, you no longer need to police them. All they need is a little coaching and mentoring. When employees buy-in to the safety program, they don’t forget their PPE. They engage in safety meetings. They demonstrate courtesy and respect for their fellow employees. In other words, policing, compliance enforcement and “gotcha” management goes right out the window. Those become archaic, cumbersome, outdated practices that slow down safety performance.

It is never the safety position or title that gets respect: it is the person in the position. Don Miguel Ruiz authored the book, The Four Agreements in 1997. It spent seven years on the bestseller list. The book is an inspiring read and could easily teach about safety and the building of a safety culture. Ruiz’s four agreements are as follows: