The outcome of this paper and my presentation at the 2009 ASSE PDC is to give you the resources to help your corporate leadership take personal responsibility for themselves and others. They, as well as the rest of your employees, must first understand how working safely benefits them personally. You must discover the tools to help others embrace the mindset that safety must be a personal value and that values do not change when conditions change. Techniques will be shown to rekindle your team and regain their vision, passion, and energy for helping others work safely while acknowledging their own accountability for achieving results.
Have you encountered the following challenge? You work for a company that is committed to the safety of their employees. The top-level management is personally committed to safety. They believe it is possible to be profitable, productive and safe. You know from your own interaction with these leaders that they are sincerely committed to safety but the employees at your company believe just the opposite. When you talk to employees they are under the impression that the corporate leadership doesn't care about them and is only interested in dollars. How did the message not get through? What barriers got in the way?
Corporate leaders are charged with successfully achieving their company's mission and making a profit for their stockholders. Governmental agency leaders have a similar position, to provide the most services for the dollars they are budgeted. What is encouraging is that I've interviewed many corporate leaders who have discovered how to convey their commitment to safety to everyone on their team. Safety is one of those values that come from the top down. The challenge is that in the rush of getting the job done some employees misunderstand that the leadership still wants the job done safely. Leaders must always make sure each and every employee understands their level of commitment to safety. People have short memories or concentrate on the message of the moment. The company president or plant manager may have told them that safety is a must and every job must be done with safety as the key focus. The challenge is that in the midst of a crisis or during future meetings they hear other messages. Leaders share the importance of production or solving a key challenge. They might say, "Do whatever it takes to get this job done!" They really mean do whatever it takes as long as you can do it safely, but employees don't hear that unless the leadership reinforces it every time. I suggest leaders always direct those they lead by saying, "Do whatever it takes to get the job done, safely." How about, "Get it done no matter what, Safely." This reminds them of the importance of getting results, but lets them know that previous commitments and focus on safety are still in place.
