I chair a county educators H&S forum and a fair few members seem to be having H&S identity problems within their organisations e.g. difficulty in influencing directors (college principles etc) and senior managers, they appear to be missed out of the communication loop when ideas are formulated and decisions made. It appears that light touch H&S and financial risks take presedence! We are going to brain storm the issue at our Dec meet by doing a SWOT anaysis and GROW model (well used management techniques) has anyone out there done a similar thing or have any inspirational ideas that may help?

Dave L

People have their own self interest as the most important issue above all other things so try and go from that angle e.g. Directors and the like [in general terms] talk, think, sleep, eat etc 'money' and what they personally want and those areas alone! Your task is to show how good H&S practices can save and make £ and allow personal gain and then and only then will they take heed. Once U have people on the hook U can move out to cast your net wider into other areas and influencing those at the top automatically influences all others

The 'what if' [e.g. 'what if' somebody gets hurt and U [Mrs/Mr director] get called to a PACE interview] argument has its place but managing a business is a gamble & H&S is one of many gambles that directors etc [including myself/yourself] have to take every day but some lours are more tempting that others so use the most tempting tit-bit at the beginning and always thereafter as part of other less personal tit-bits

In my opinion having a good understanding of human [directors etc] psychology and behaviour as well as realising that Rome was not built in a day and U are in for the long haul is the most important part of understanding H&S; so go from there

Best of luck

Bob's observation prompts me to realise how easy it is - including for me, in my earlier answer! - not to stand back and think about such tough issues with detachment.

Otherwise we easily fall foul of what's known as 'the gambler's fallacy', the belief that, with persistence, chance is 'bound' to come up with a 'solution'. Research as far back as 1971 that led to psychologists Tversky and Kahneman to the Nobel Prize indicates that unless probability shows there's evidence that you're on the right lines, chance can keep on leading you nowhere!.

The good news is in an excellent 2008 report 'The impact of health and safety management on organisations and their staff' by organisational psychologists at Loughborough University and downloadable free at www.iosh.co.uk/researchsummaries (yep! this website!). In their reports, they segment organisations into 'yet to be fully engaged' (5), 'complier' (13) and 'very good' (13). and indicate the next stage of OSH for each segment.

This is an approach that can enable Lloyd and his colleagues to differentiate between 'runners', 'tyrekickers' and 'timewasters' amongst those they wish to influence, and to allocate their time, energy and other resources accordingly. Even Dom Cooper's model really matches only the energy of 'runners'.

I agree with Bob, in that Rome was not built in one day. Insisting immediate action often alienates the senior management, remember that your priority may not be theirs and visa versa therefore just keep gently knocking on the door and things will get done; a great deal of patience and lip biting is needed i am afraid. Whilst saying all of that make sure that you formally record issues where your advice is not listened to.

I have had periods of stormimg up the stairs to no avail and now (although sometimes reluctantly) have to play the waiting game, but everyone is different and your approach may need to be tailored to suit the personalities within the company; some are better listeners whereas some are better leaders.