The effects of safety (or lack thereof) can have repercussions throughout a company’s structure. Safety culture at its best can lead to higher productivity and profitability; at its worst, will lead to injuries, loss of time, profitability, and poor employee morale.
Safety culture is critical to implement as soon as possible, but it’s most effective when introduced through the lens of proven and testable practices. Achieving a positive safety culture should be a priority for any business owner who wants to maintain high-quality standards of risk management. In this article, the safety consultants at The SP Group discuss what safety culture is, why it’s important, and how to improve it in your workplace.
Safety culture encompasses the values, perceptions and beliefs of your employees about health and safety in the workplace. It is the representation of the attitude of a workplace, reaching all levels of the business hierarchy including owners and managers as well as full- and part-time employees. Most importantly, safety culture is the mindset toward safety values and beliefs along with the manifested implementation of procedures to support it.
Think of safety culture as a unified force that enables better perceptions and actionable steps towards safety for all stakeholders: the employees, the environment, and customers.
The importance of a positive safety culture cannot be understated. With a well-implemented safety culture, there will be a very noticeable effect on how health and safety strategy is received and executed across the board. Instead of health and safety being seen as a barrier to productivity or a necessary hurdle to overcome, safety culture will enable more receptiveness for initiatives and policies that preserve the safety of a company’s stakeholders.
Good safety culture helps:
Without a positive safety culture, employees may not take health and safety as seriously, leading to increased risk of injury and harm within the company and beyond it. From a legal point of view, it’s critical to be able to demonstrate that you have taken all the necessary and reasonable steps to achieve a healthy and safe working environment.
Investing in a positive safety culture is undoubtedly beneficial for the short and long-term success of any company; here are some of the top ways to strengthen it:
The first way to strengthen your organization's safety culture is to initiate regular training sessions. Health and safety training provides employees with the knowledge and tools they need to perform their jobs safely and effectively. It helps create awareness for safety procedures while simultaneously communicating to the employees that health and safety matter and are worth their time.
A positive workplace safety culture only thrives when the entire company is united in its success. This means including every employee on the business ladder. It might initially seem that safety culture only matters for boots-on-the-ground employees and perhaps the management team overseeing them, but by communicating safety culture to senior team members and business leaders, they can help to set an example for others to follow, inspiring others to take health and safety seriously with passionate and engaging support.
In order to ensure that a positive safety culture is encouraged throughout the company, it’s important to maintain accountability, especially when there is a failure to comply with health and safety procedures. Safety policies should be universal, and thus everyone in the business should understand what safety risks are at stake. Similarly, everyone should be held accountable with clear consequences should any policy be breached.
A great way to build a positive safety culture is to include your employees and help them share their voices and opinions. By sending out a safety survey, you can get feedback on your safety culture and policy, such as how it is being developed and implemented. Consider asking questions to your various teams, like: What are their problems with safety culture right now? How would they improve the safety culture within their team?
A positive safety culture disciplines individuals who breach safety policy, but it also rewards good safety culture practice. Rewarding or recognizing employees who help cultivate the culture you are striving for sets an example for other employees to follow their good conduct, developing a positive mindset and encouraging a positive safety culture.
An important aspect of any health and safety program is that it is acting proactively, not reactively. By taking significant, measurable strides towards a safer and more transparent working environment, it will show in the overall satisfaction and trust of your stakeholders.
Be ambitious; be prepared to challenge others; challenge yourself and learn from failure. Make your plan and have the courage to stick to it.
One of the best ways to foster a positive safety culture is to gain a fresh perspective from outside the organization. By hiring the help of an occupational health and safety consultant, your company is guaranteed to receive impartial recommendations for optimizing your current safety strategy. Furthermore, you can count on the expert experience of a safety consultant who helps provide improved safety, regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, and guidance that has been proven effective with their other clients. By investing in OHS, you will undoubtedly cultivate a safety culture that meets the highest professional and industry standards.
Whether you’re looking for some extra advice to get your safety culture back on track, or if you need to outsource your OHS strategy entirely, contact The SP Group today! We have safety consultants who have traveled all across the US, and we would be happy to share our expertise with you! Call today to book your free consultation.