According to a survey by Fluke most companies do not have a strong safety culture. To build a strong culture of safety, you must first create a climate of safety. A climate of safety allows for faster change and adaptation. It influences safety culture, which is harder to change because it is intertwined with the overarching corporate culture. If you want to change a company's safety culture, you have to start with the climate of safety. Over time, that strong climate will create a stronger culture.
The safety culture expert at Predictive solutions, Chuck Pettinger, Ph.D. has seen three key changes in creating a successful climate of safety that will evolve into a successful culture of safety:
- Communications
- Make it personal
- Keep building
1. Communicate
Part of a successful business is how we communicate with each other and building a strong culture of safety. Looking at a climate of safety communication can include things like goal setting and incentive programmes. Instead of looking at accident and injury rates, Dr Pettinger suggests focusing on the positive. By focusing on accidents and injuries, “a lot of safety reporting goes underground. And it can unintentionally damage the culture.” Instead, try focusing on the quality of safety inspections or the number of employees participating in a safety initiative. In general, people are more motivated when they try to improve something, rather than avoid or reduce something (e.g. injuries).
Instead, focus on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, which are more useful and have a positive impact on the climate of safety within the company. Dr Pettinger says: “[The goal] should be an actionable, observable behaviour that you want to reinforce, versus, for example, ‘Do your best.’ So make it specific. Make it achievable. Make it relevant to the people around you and not just you. And visualise it, make people see its importance.”
It is also important to be aware of how you talk about certain processes. This can also affect how the climate is perceived throughout the company. Dr Pettinger gave an example of how climate can affect employees negatively: “If you hear, ‘We need to get this machine running.’ There is a certain time pressure. There is a slight pressure and nobody is literally telling you ‘Skip things’, but you feel that pressure of climate compared to other cultures that say, “I don't care how long it takes. Take your time. Do it safely. Don't get hurt.”
2. Make it personal
Creating a safety plan that focuses on the individual will keep you engaged with it throughout the working day. Dr Pettinger has seen success in changing the way meetings are held at the beginning of the shift and making training more customised.
More employee engagement at the beginning of the shift has had a positive effect for many companies. Instead of just looking at what needs to be done and what the previous shift left out, Dr Pettinger recommends taking time during each meeting to discuss potential risks and how they can be mitigated. “Make sure you get those answers from the people in your group. As a good manager, it is important to let them find the solution themselves,” says Dr Pettinger.
When it comes to training and teaching, different approaches are possible. Michael Brooks, a Fluke customer, has had success with one-to-one training at his company, Great Southwestern Fire and Safety. Taking the time to go through the safety steps and ensuring that the knowledge and experience one employee has is transferred to the next. Brooks said, “What they learnt, they themselves could transfer to another new colleague. It's not the same people instructing and learning and growing all the time. We have really worked hard to maintain this positive attitude among our staff.” This has not only contributed to employee safety, but has allowed the company to grow over the years.
3. Keep building
Building a strong culture of safety does not happen overnight. Many companies fall under the so-called ‘toxic cycle’. In this cycle, new initiatives start strong, but eventually lose momentum and are completely ignored after some time. Then another new initiative is started and the cycle repeats itself. However, no real change is seen based on these initiatives and both the climate and culture of safety remain the same.
Instead, companies must find a way to achieve the “virtuous cycle”. This is all about patience and perseverance. “Culture is something that is very difficult to influence. It sometimes takes three to five or even 10 years to change,” Dr Pettinger said.
Once a new initiative has started, set short-term goals to make it feel more like progress is being made. Not only will individual employees feel they can be more influential, but management can also keep track of what changes have been initiated. Once people see the value of the new process, it will become self-perpetuating, ingrained and help your organisation create a culture of safety.
