Posted By George Wedgwood
Claire, these benefits are many such as;
Easier Tender submissions with good record,
Profitability improves,
Enforcement ceases,
Happier, healthier employees,
More competent employees who want to stay!
More consistent performance across the Company (i.e. no ‘bad’ sites!),
Better contractor safety performance,
Higher quality and safer machinery,
More H&S Champions in good managers
Better internal communications,
Better managers,
To be amongst the best performers?

Quantifying these may start with stats and reactive measurements but you can include some positive ones as well such as number of assessments, training courses delivered, number of H&S Newsletters, number of H&S awards number of safety reps, external audit results, near misses reported etc. The main key is firstly understanding the company culture and then setting out an agreed plan to change it so that performance improved year on year. Don't go for 'zero accidents' as that may not easily be achievable and you will only fail. Ask Managers what they see as important and get their sign-on to the changes. Not all will deliver but if enough do - and that will depend on your personal success with them - the rest will want to follow!

Qualitative benefits are all about feeling better about ourselves and our 'doing well' at H&S, so that people talk openly about it and boast of successes, rather than be critical and backbiting! Overcoming such a culture can take some time and can only work if senior staff are genuinely committed to improvement - get a solid commitment from each one of them to 'own' their sector performance and encourage each to commit to deliver something tangible, like having a vision assessment for all of his mobile plant for example, or challenging the norms of office safety for the benefits of the 'forgotten people' locked behind their desks!

Be enthusiastic and show it at interview - passion about H&S will win you through!

Regards, George

Posted By claire lewis
Thanks to everyone for your response!

Fingers crossed, eh?!

Claire.