Managers, Here Are Three Ways You Can Reinforce Your Safety Culture
When creating a safety culture, we often focus our efforts on the people on the shop floor, who interact daily with obvious hazards such as electric shock and oil slicks. However, many people don’t realize that one of the most effective ways to implement a strong safety culture is to start with senior management.
Often, when it comes to safety programs, the difference between success and failure is linked to the level of senior management team involvement. When general managers, owners, or CEOs are involved, the safety culture takes on a higher level of importance, and the success rate rises.
Managers, here are three ways you can help reinforce a safety culture in your organization.
1. Attend safety committee meetings.
The mere presence of executive leadership at safety meetings sends a clear message that safety is a top priority. Not only should you attend the meetings, but you should also take an active role in the meetings and engage in the conversation. If you’re unable to participate in the meeting, review the notes.
2. Correlate safety and profitability in discussions.
Realistically, safety improves the bottom line. This is because safety reduces the risk of fines and workers’ compensation rate hikes. When you discuss the relationship between safety and revenue in your meetings, safety will get a more significant focus.
3. Lead by example.
When it comes to safety you should be following the same protocol as all of your employees. This means that senior management should attend safety trainings and follow all of the same procedures as everyone else. Stay involved in inspections: following up on them, and demonstrating the value of a strong safety culture daily.
Safety culture is rooted in teamwork.
Looking for areas to focus on to improve safety within your company? Start with yourself.
KPA has everything you need to create a safety program that works and a safety culture that sticks. Organizations of all kinds rely on our tools, training, and consulting expertise to minimize risk and maximize business performance.
