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Mr.Flibble2.0  
#1 Posted : 16 October 2018 14:23:51(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Mr.Flibble2.0

Afternoon All,

So I am doing a refresh of Safety Across all my sites; Vehicle Workshops, Offices, Shops etc and looking at how we can sell the idea of safety, how we can make people interested and speak about it in the same light as they do costs and keeping customer happy. As shocking as it may seem safety isn't always first, so I'm looking at ways of getting it there.

We do Awards for many things from the results of other audits but not for safety and I have seen it mentioned on here before in various forms, that for some reason people are hesitant to celebrate success in safety. I'm not going to base it on KPI's, more leading indicators such as Internal Audits, Training, Actions closed off etc.

But what I am after is inspirations, how can I get people to buy into safety, how can I sell it to them rather than going down the 'because its the law' or 'your the depot manager, you will be the one in court and not me' approach. 

All products are sold as a positive; Buy this aftershave and you can be like a footballer, wear this dress and be like a movie star, drink red bull and it will give you wings. Safety; Do this or bad things will happen. People will always buy into positives more than negatives. So that’s what I'm looking for. A new approach, which sells safety well and / or celebrates success. 

So if anyone had seen anything or had good success with a campaign and willing to share and help me to make change, please share.

From a Safety Manager who after 20 years is feeling positive

A Kurdziel  
#2 Posted : 16 October 2018 14:42:59(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

 

  “From a Safety Manager who after 20 years is feeling positive” it must be the Red Bull! (Other nasty tasting caffeine containing drinks are available).

What works with some managers is the idea that Good Health and Safety management is just good overall management and if you want to be perceived as a good manager you should be looking at all aspects of the job not just delivery.

For the rank and file just telling them it’s the law and they must follow it, is of limited applicability at best.

They need to be shown that it is their best interest to follow good practice:

  • Stops them getting hurt- stories about injuries have a role here but not too much
  • It stops colleagues getting hurt
  • It makes their job easier as in the long run  a safe system ( I mean really safe properly designed systems ) are better than some random hodge-podge that just about works  
  • They are key for making this happen; H&S is not some that is done to them but something that they partake in and take the lead in. Their ideas might be better than those of managers who might not understand the front line.

Bit general but areas you might look at

 

Mr.Flibble2.0  
#3 Posted : 16 October 2018 14:52:31(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Mr.Flibble2.0

mmm caffine is my friend...

Some good points there and ones I have tried and tested. I even made life easy for them (too easy so could be my own fault there) so there is a nice synergy between operations and safety. 

It's just the teams are still not getting it. I want them to get to the stage where its something they want to do, where they present to me in a meeting all the lovely proactive things that are doing, install that sense of pride.

Maybe its the wings and i'm enjoying that blue sky too much

Clark34486  
#4 Posted : 16 October 2018 15:17:31(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Clark34486

A good way to enage is to actually engage, I'm not a huge advocate of IIP BUT if you can ask the question 'what does H&S mean to you?', 'does the company care about your H&S, if not why not, if yes, how?', 'what would make a difference to you in terms of your H&S at work?' etc etc

It's also true that H&S means different things to different people and at different levels, ask them? if you can tie H&S standards into good/ positive operational outputs this will resonate with the higher echelons

Why are you doing it? as the H&S bod it isn't your responsibility, is it? if senior managers/ directors are providing the message that's far more ensgaging than if you do it, after all it's your job, isn't it?

Edited by user 16 October 2018 15:20:06(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Mr Insurance  
#5 Posted : 16 October 2018 16:33:13(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Mr Insurance

Start off by playing along with the  usual 'elf and safety' negative stereotypes and the bonkers conkers type stories with a few of the sillier examples.  Once you get them nodding along that it's all a load of Boll....ards, change tack and say "actually, none of that is really health and safety - this is what it's all about..."

A few stories about making sure people get home every night for their tea should should hopefully give awake up call that H&S isn't about people with clipboards stopping people having fun - it's making sure they get home each night so they see their families etc. 

If they can buy into the message that the negative stereotypes are just lazy reporting and that the positives are serious issues that are in there to help them and keep them safe and free from harm, it might get them to take it on board a bit more.

Good luck!

Docking36832  
#6 Posted : 18 October 2018 15:20:29(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Docking36832

I think examples of true accident cases go down well, although a bit dismal if they are in similar situations it really sends the message home.

A Kurdziel  
#7 Posted : 18 October 2018 15:58:38(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

You could steal from Tim Marsh’s script about H&S culture.  It goes something like this (should be done with a Welsh accent)

“Hands up if there are any swingers in!”

Hopefully nobody puts their hands up as it gets a bit complicated if there are any actual swingers in.

“So you, for whatever reason decide to go to a swinger’s party for the first time. What do you do? Do you get stuck in straight away, as it were or do you observe; see how things are done; what are the rules at that particular party? What can you and what can’t you do without offending people?”

“What you are doing is observing the CULTURE at that party”

“What has this to do with H&S and with work? Well Culture was defined by Deal and Kennedy in their classic book “Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life”, as “the way things get done around here” and it is the culture that decides which values are promoted in an organisation including Health and Safety.

You can then talk about culture using things like the DuPont model (The Bradley Curve) or Parker and Hudson’s model. In both approach the aim is something like you mentioned called a  Generative culture-“Safety is how we do business around here”  in Hudson and Parker,  and  an Interdependent culture  in the Bradley curve. Get people to talk about this and ask them how it might be possible to achieve that in your organisation.

The question is are they ready for this level of engagement?

  

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