Kevin Burns Blog

Have you ever said out loud (or secretly wished) that senior management would openly show their support for safety so that the team would perform better in safety? Well, it turns out that you don’t need their help. Here’s what to do instead.

You know that you want to improve your safety culture. You just may not be going about it the right way. So, let’s give you a tip on where to start to improve safety culture the more effective way.

You don’t need more rules and procedures in safety. You need more people to buy-in to what you are trying to do in safety. That is a very different issue. And it requires a different set of skills to capture hearts and minds of employees in safety.

If you’ve adopted a leadership mindset, then you will have already spent time envisioning what needs fixing in your safety program. Without spending time to assess what’s wrong, you can’t possibly improve your program. Without a vision of where you would like to end up, you’ll stay stuck right where you are.

We don’t need more safety rules. We need more buy-in to safety.

It feels like safety is in a transition place – where the compliance and punitive consequential measures of the past are giving way to more of a sense of community and teamwork. Where rules-based safety programs are giving way to higher levels of engagement, awareness and participation. Where safety managers are acting more in a consultative role instead of the clipboard carrying, looking-over-shoulder types of the past. But there is still resistance to safety by some employees (there is certainly no widespread and universal acceptance of safety) largely due to how safety has been positioned in the workplace.

Safety is not a process problem. It's a marketing problem.

For fifty years, since the creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, we have been trying to get our people to embrace safety through mechanical means and clumsy attempts to scare them into safety (gruesome stories, gut-wrenching videos, fear and scolding). We’ve tried punitive rules enforcement, checkbox processes and procedures, and endless streams of paperwork. We create mind-numbing, PowerPoint-laden safety meetings and still get exasperated that we can’t seem to create employee buy-in. Had any of the above been the answer, surely something would have been successful by now. But these are all mechanical means and mechanical means don't create employee buy-in.

Driving along the highway, you look down at the speedometer and confirm that you are travelling at exactly the speed limit. Suddenly, you see a police car at the side of the highway with a radar gun pointed in your direction. Despite that you just confirmed that you were travelling the speed limit, you ease up on the accelerator anyway.

One of the questions I am asked most often is: how do I get my people to care more about safety? The truthful answer is that they already do. What you don’t want to hear, is that what you’ve been selling them all of this time isn’t safety.

You’ve been selling them paperwork, and rules compliance, and process and procedure. You’ve been selling them legislation, and consequence, and PowerPoint-heavy meetings and “wear your damn PPE.” You’ve been selling them officers and advisers looking over their shoulders waiting for them to mess up. And, you’ve been selling them “go home safe” as the point of the exercise. You’ve been selling them all of the things that THEY are required to do and very little of what YOU, the company, are going to give them. Now, learn how to improve the level to which employees care about safety by continuing to read and by watching the video below.

There is a marked difference between a rally and a protest. Simply put, a rally is usually in support of something. A protest is in opposition to something. If you want to be part of showing your support in favour of something, you rally.

At a rally, generally, everyone is well behaved and orderly. There may be some chanting, but it is usually done in unison to wave the flag of support for a specific cause. You may also find that the rally is better organized - with a sound system, an agenda and speakers to address the rally.

At a protest, however, the energy is different. The chanting is louder and full of emotion. There is shouting, fist-pumping, marching and often there are confrontations. Protestors can be incredibly passionate about their cause and they want the world to know where they stand. Occasionally that emotion can spill over into over-the-top behaviour. Agree with the protest or not, a protest gets your attention.

Where a rally might last an hour or two, a protest can drag on for weeks with seemingly no reduction in energy or passion by the protesters.

How can a protest affect your safety program? Read on and watch the video below....

Perhaps your company was doing great from a safety performance standpoint and then suddenly, you had an incident. As a reaction, you double-down on safety process and procedure: have more meetings, enforce the rules more, have more inspections. You know, the usual suspects. Maybe even hire an outside safety speaker to turn up the volume on safety. Your immediate thinking might be that somehow the collective eye of the company was taken off safety for just a moment when it all went south. And now, you feel that you’ve got to get the focus back on safety.

Since the problem seems to be safety, the thinking goes, then the solution must be more safety. But nothing could be further from the truth. Safety isn’t the problem. Your safety protocols work. Safety procedures have been tested and passed. Rules and regulations have been discussed with employees ad nauseum. You've never had a better safety program. It works exactly the way it is supposed to.

Well then, complacency must have somehow infiltrated the safety program, you might be thinking. If you can fix the complacency, then you can fix the problems that create the incidents in safety.

That’s the traditional, linear thinking. And if only it worked that way. But, that’s not entirely where the problem exists. Besides, safety complacency isn’t fixed from the safety side. It’s fixed from the engagement side. So now you are asking how you do that from your front-line position? Read on and watch the video below.

Your favorite high-school teacher and the best boss you ever had have given you all of the clues you will ever need to become more influential in leading your people in safety. But what clues did they leave you? And how will you know which of the things they did will help you be a better leader in safety?

Well, let’s start with your favorite boss. Out of all of the bosses you’ve ever had in your lifetime, what is it that makes this particular boss best? Was it particular character traits, mannerisms, the way they spoke to you, the way they approached meetings or coaching sessions? Was it the way they seemed to be focused on your success more than their own? Was it a gem of an idea or observation that you will carry with you as a real learning moment for the rest of your life? They are your favorite for a reason.

Now, think about the best teacher you ever had and compare that person to the best boss you ever had. Study your favorite teacher for the same clues as your best boss. Where are they similar? Think about how each of them talked to you, coached you, valued you and pushed you to be a little better. The way they made you the center of the conversations with them. The way they connected with you.

It will be no surprise to learn that the things your best boss did and the things your favorite teacher did were closely related. There are things that people do for us that we enjoy, and we warm up to. You have responded positively to the positive influences in your life. You remember those positive influences fondly and are probably grateful for the mark they made on you. How does that affect you in helping your people come to safety more easily? Read on and watch the video below.