
One saying that often gets put up there that we think has
some merit, but often is misused in organizations is “safety is everyone’s
responsibility.” Have you used that statement before in your organization? We
have. It makes sense, right? Safety requires people working together, asking
questions, identifying risk, and doing what is needed to reduce risk. Everyone
has a role to play, a responsibility to themselves and others. Safety really
does involve responsibilities for everyone.
So what’s with the title of the blog then?
Here’s the thing – whenever we hear organizations use that
statement “safety is everyone’s responsibility” it is ALWAYS directed at
workers. Although we’ve heard safety managers and supervisors tell employees
that safety is everyone’s responsibility in many training classes and tailgate
meetings, we’ve not once heard someone say that in a manager’s meeting. And
even though many organizations plaster the walls with posters that highlight
how safety is everyone’s job in employee locker rooms and break rooms, we’ve
never seen such a poster in the corporate conference room or the safety
manager’s office.
Communication between humans is an interesting thing. Even
when we aren’t talking or doing other forms of active communication, we are
still communicating. The lack of active communication says something about the
values and beliefs of the communicator. So when we tell line employees that
safety is everyone’s responsibility but we do not feel the need to tell anyone
else in the organization that safety is everyone’s responsibility, what are we
communicating about our values and beliefs?
Think about it – the only way that only telling line
employees can make sense is if:
- Somehow line employees have either a mental or motivational deficiency that others in the organization do not have, or
- Line employees have a special, greater responsibility that reminding them about will somehow help them appreciate and then take the appropriate actions.
To the first point, employees have the most to lose. If an
accident happens they are the ones who suffer the most, because they are the
ones who get hurt or killed. The stakes don’t really get much higher for them.
So, we don’t think motivation is really the problem here. Perhaps it is a
mental deficiency then. Perhaps our workers are especially dumb. We hope that
no one really believes this, but if you do take a look at this blog.
Ok, to the second point, about our workers having a special
responsibility that reminding them of will somehow make better, we’re pretty
sure that the jury is back on this one – most safety professionals would agree
that the part of your organization that has the most influence on safety is
your managers and supervisors, not your line workers. The further up the
organization you go, the more influence over the safety of the organization you
have. So, if reminding someone about their responsibility regarding safety
actually makes a difference in behavior, wouldn’t it make more sense to start
putting posters up in the boardroom?
So that’s why we say stop telling people that safety is
everyone’s responsibility, because, if you’re like most organizations, you’re
only telling the line workers and you’re not reaching the people who matter.
Workers often see this as a way to merely pass the buck on safety
responsibility. If you really want safety to be everyone’s responsibility in
your organization then communicate it with actions, and not just in a way that
makes sense to you. There’s a concept in social psychology called reciprocal
altruism, which is the idea that we do things for people who do things for us.
If this is true then perhaps a better way to communicate the need for employees
to take responsibility is to show them than you’re taking responsibility for
safety.
Make sure your actions to communicate the importance of
safety are done in a way that everyone in the organization understands. Too
often we fix the problems that some regulatory agency or some auditor identify
and wonder why our employees are appreciative. Your employees don’t really care
that much about that stuff. Get out there and fix problems that employees have.
And this isn’t just the problems that you think they have. Ask them what’s
tough about their jobs and find ways to solve those problems. If you want
employee engagement then get out there and engage with your employees.
And for your managers and supervisors, if anyone needs
reminding about their responsibility in regards to organizational safety it’s
them. What are you doing to remind them of their responsibility? Just like your
employees though, don’t just talk to managers and supervisors in a way that
makes sense to you. Find out what’s in the way of them engaging in exercising
their safety responsibility and do what you can to remove those roadblocks.
What you do will vary from person to person and organization
to organization. However, the bottom line is that if you really believe that
safety is everyone’s responsibility you shouldn’t have to tell anyone. People
will know that it is true by your actions. So how are your showing people that
safety is everyone’s responsibility?
In my long safety career I have seen countless examples of what you have described:when an injury occurred more often than not the worker was at fault. Never once have I seen an incident investigation lay the blame at the feet of management,even though it was obvious that that was the case.
ReplyDeleteThe culture of blame has done more to hinder the overall progress of safety than anything I've seen over the last 20 years and it doesn't show any signs of change. If you think about it,it makes perfect sense: if it's the workers fault I as management don't have to do anything. Maybe develop yet another policy or procedure but nothing that will prevent reoccurrence of an injury.
The problem with this logic is a simple one in that people are nearly impossible to "fix". The prisons are filled with examples of those failed efforts!