Workplace safety has been an important component of all large organizations around the world. Federal legislation was the spearhead for steady, and in many cases dramatic, improvement in workplace safety. The push for safety has resulted in tremendous tangible results: strong policies and procedures, new and better equipment, and a focus on behavioral safety, especially for “front line” workers. Many CEOs have embraced safety as an important part of doing business. However, many CEOs continue to face the painful question of:

“Why are our workers still getting hurt?”

The key is that despite our best efforts at creating policy and procedure, and despite the best safety intentions of organizational leaders, they are of no use if the culture of the organization does not support employees working safely. In many organizations, no matter what leaders say; production, schedule and cost still trump safety in day-to-day operations. This gap between what is stated by the organization, and what is practiced on the front line, is where workers get hurt or killed.

Stepping up to the next level of safety and causing a dramatic change in safety performance, requires a focus on creating and sustaining a safe work culture, in which everyone: front-line workers, organizational leaders, and most importantly, foremen and other front-line supervisors, is unmovable in their commitment to safety. Creating such a culture requires leadership, and it needs to permeate from all levels of the organization.

Sandy Blaha Performance Consulting provides the tools needed to create a safe work culture. Workshops, small group meetings, and individual coaching (in the field, in the office and/or over the phone) will create the awareness in the organization, and the provide the tools for both designated and informal leaders to create a work culture in which everyone chooses to work safe, because “that’s just the way we do things here.”

Contact Dr. Hooper at: thoop@sandyblaha.com