Whether in-person in a physical location, working remotely or hybrid, on the road or on a worksite, employees have common needs when it comes to physical and psychological safety. Above all, they must trust that their safety is a priority for the organization.
An organization where safety is a priority is one where people: have the training, resources, and equipment to do their job safely; feel free to speak up if they make a mistake or if something doesn’t seem right; and trust that their concerns will be dealt with promptly by leadership. The organization’s commitment to safety is intentional, tied to purpose, mission, vision, and values, and evaluated based on demonstrated behaviours.
Four critical organizational success factors to ensure trust and safety:
Leadership Competence: people leaders demonstrate clear, consistent, and effective day-to-day expectations and operations.
Leadership Style: there is an open, involving, and responsive style of management that promotes a shared sense of accountability for success and safety.
Resources and Facilities: employees have the resources, equipment and physical facilities required to conduct work safely and efficiently.
Engagement and Balance: employees look forward to their work, cooperate with each other and feel encouraged to balance their work and personal lives.
Great workplaces recognize that prioritizing safety is not only the right thing to do, but it also contributes to overall success. Typically, they experience:
• fewer accidents and injuries, minimizing downtime.
• higher job satisfaction which could reduce turnover rates and the costs of recruiting and training new employees.
• improved reputation in the community and ability to attract top talent.
• Increased employee involvement, sense of ownership and accountability.
• more innovation, process improvements and operational efficiency.
• reduced risk of fines and legal challenges.
Be proactive and measure safety in the workplace
For many organizations, safety is a key performance indicator and there is rigour around how it is measured. Others may not have a formalized program, but it is still critical to be proactive about employee safety in the workplace and evaluate to ensure efforts are having the desired impact.
A continuous listening strategy can be helpful being proactive and can include feedback gathered anonymously and from individuals. It may also include an employee survey metric, or safety index, which includes elements of physical safety, psychological and emotional safety, leadership behaviours, resources and equipment and employee cooperation. This data can be used to surface issues and can also help an organization be proactive.
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety defines leading indicators as proactive, preventative, and predictive measures taken to identify and eliminate hazards in the workplace. Lagging indicators are a record of what has happened. They look back and measure a company’s health and safety performance by tracking incident statistics.
Organizations can use leading and lagging indicators to determine the effectiveness of their health and safety programs and efforts and identify any issues that should be corrected before an incident occurs.
In great places to work safety starts at the top and is a shared responsibility
Safety must be part of everyone’s responsibility and behaviours must be modeled by leaders. Great Place To Work® has identified nine high-trust leader behaviours which can directly impact safety and may be demonstrated by employees at all levels.
Listening: give employees an opportunity to share ideas, think creatively, generate solutions to business challenges and come up with new concepts. Listen with an open your mind when they share their thoughts on what will contribute to their safety. "Listening is not just making sure you’ve accurately heard the words coming out of someone’s mouth. It’s also not just waiting for someone to stop talking so you can speak. It is choosing to empty your mind and set aside your opinions while someone else is talking." Michael C Bush, CEO, Great Place To Work ®
Inspiring: reinforce the mission and unique values of the organization through a variety of programs and practices. Help employees see how their contributions and focus on safety make an impact on the company, colleagues, customers, and community. Encourage employees to share stories and have safety moments before meetings.
Speaking: share information across all levels of the organization in a variety of ways, demonstrating transparency and commitment to ensuring employees have the information they need to do their jobs safely.
Developing: support and promote employee professional development and career growth. Provide opportunities for employees to expand their knowledge of what makes a workplace safe, and to continue learning.
Thanking: meaningfully recognize employees’ contributions and accomplishments related to safety and behaviours that reinforce the organization’s commitment. What gets recognized gets repeated.
Caring: help employees thrive in their personal and professional lives and recognize that individual perspectives and experiences may be different.
Sharing: promote a sense of equity and generosity with employees and the community through programs and practices that work for all.
Hiring and welcoming: ensure your onboarding and welcoming process sets employees up for long-term success and highlights the organization’s attention to safety in all areas of the business.
Celebrating: have fun together and celebrating company milestones and special occasions which can include specific measures on safety.
Workplace safety must be top of mind for organizations that truly aspire to be a great place to work for all. Every employee deserves to feel safe and free from concerns of harm either related to the way their work gets done or the culture around them.
9 High-Trust Leadership Behaviors Everyone Should Model | Great Place To Work®
Building Trust and Why it Matters… | Great Place To Work® Canada
Get to know the authors – Anne Cesak