How upper management can motivate workers to embrace the workplace safety culture

If your organization’s safety culture isn’t where it needs to be, it can be changed or strengthened, but that change must start at the top. For an organization to successfully implement and foster a culture of safety, managers, CEOs, and owners must all buy-in to the culture of workplace safety.

What is Safety Culture?

​Safety culture is a broad concept that is usually taken to reflect the qualities of the organizational culture that affect safety attitudes and behaviours. Simply put, it’s the “way things are done.” When the safety culture is strong, the people within the organization view safety as both an individual responsibility and an integral part of operations. Safety culture is also attitudes toward safety. These are developed through the support of top management, and leadership through the examples set by supervisors, managers, and even the CEO. Top management who practice what they preach will have an easier time developing a safety culture within all organizational practices.

Employees look to management for an example of how to act in the workplace

Strategies to create a strong safety culture

Strong safety culture in the workplace is identified in workplaces that support the following activities:

• Top-Down Support: Safety is supported and practiced at all levels. Buy-in from workers comes naturally because safety is ingrained in all of the company’s operations and processes.
• Communication: Safety messages are communicated organization-wide. As well, all employees receive training on safe operating processes, policies, and procedures. There is a safety board that is updated regularly, and there are frequent messages and updates from top management that are circulated company-wide.
• Training: Training is provided to employees on a regular basis and is monitored for effectiveness. 

• Reporting Culture: Hazard reports are welcome, rather than discouraged. The reporting culture is further strengthened when the employer, CEO, and managers all take action to control or remedy reported hazards immediately. This sends the message that management cares about safety and takes it seriously.
• ​Involve workers: Buy-in and participation increase tremendously when workers have input into workplace safety processes, policies, and program elements.  
• An Active JHSC: To get an accurate read on an organization’s safety culture, examine the JHSC. Is it active and effective? If so, you can bet that the safety culture is strong and that the JHSC gets the support it needs to run like a well-oiled machine.

 

Tips for Keeping Workers Motivated

When it comes to workplace health and safety, it can sometimes be challenging to keep workers motivated to work safely. This can be true even when the safety culture is operating as expected. Upper management must keep workers motivated to work safely and embrace the workplace safety culture. To keep workers motivated and to keep the safety culture operational, try the following:

• Communicate often: the more transparent the organization is about safety efforts; the more workers will be willing to do their part. If safety feels like it’s imposed, workers may lack the motivation need to work safely and identify hazards.

 

• Reward safe behaviours: too often, safety is only discussed when unsafe behaviours or conditions are present. Be sure to reward safe behaviours. Frequent and timely positive feedback is a great way to reinforce desired behaviours.

 

• ​Let innovation flourish: allow workers to bring forward ideas for continuous improvement. They are the ones most familiar with the job processes and materials. Listen to them when they say they have an idea that can make the work safer.


• Participation breeds buy-in: the more you allow workers to participate in health and safety initiatives, the more buy-in there will be among them. Workers who contribute have a better understanding of the “why” behind policies and procedures, and that makes them more likely to follow them, and encourage others to as well. 

• Leadership through example: employees will be more motivated to follow safety processes when they see their managers and supervisors doing it too. When top management doesn’t practice what they preach, motivation quickly wanes and is replaced with an “if they can do it, so can I,” mind-set. Remember that employees look to you for an example of how to act in the workplace. If you show that you value safety, so will your workers. Always lead by example.

Trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting

MidSouthWest Training and Consulting offers online safety culture training or Supervisor Competency Training, available via distance learning. We also offer consulting services, and we can help you assess and strengthen the safety culture at your organization. You can trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting to provide you with cost-effective training solutions tailored to meet your organization’s unique health and safety needs.
 
To ask questions, contact us online or call 289.309.1143. Visit us 24/7 on the web at midsouthwest.ca.

​Last updated August 19, 2021