Safety in the workplace isn’t something that just occurs by accident. A culture of safety must be developed through training, leadership, and policy-setting. Fostering an environment where your team treats safety as a priority can help prevent workplace injuries and maintain compliance with regulatory standards.
On that note, join us below as we unpack the question, “What is ‘safety culture’?” and provide practical tips to help you promote the well-being of your team and brand reputation through a proactive approach.
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Understanding Workplace Safety Culture
A workplace’s safety culture refers to the collective attitudes and beliefs that its employees and management share regarding safety in the business environment. For a business to have a strong safety culture, preventing workplace incidents has become a core value for everyone involved.
Your business will enjoy several benefits when it puts safety first. Employees will be more likely to follow protocols and less susceptible to injuries. They will likely experience improved morale when they realize that you are also making their well-being a top priority. A desire to avoid injuries and accidents will even help protect your company’s reputation, too.
Furthermore, workers who know what to do and how to do it will be more productive. They can focus on their daily tasks without worrying about the risks associated with working in an unsafe environment.
Key Elements of a Strong Workplace Safety Culture
It takes several factors to create a great safety culture within your business, such as:
A Commitment Up Top
Safety in the workplace begins with you and your leadership team.
Employees look to their bosses as an example of how to behave and how to approach operational policies. Those who show a blatant disregard for the rules will inadvertently encourage their teams to behave similarly. On the other hand, supervisors who make safety a priority in their policies and actions will incentivize line-level staff to follow suit.
You need to model the behaviors you want your workers to exhibit. For instance, always wear the required safety gear when navigating dangerous areas, and make it clear that you care about how things get done, not simply hitting productivity goals.
Worker Buy-In
Next, you need to get your team to believe in what you are doing so they understand the importance of safety. Encouraging your employees to take an active role in safety will help them develop a sense of ownership for their well-being and that of their coworkers.
There are many great ways to get workers involved in safety planning and policymaking. Add line-level staff to safety committees or invite feedback on company protocols. Your team members can provide valuable perspectives on critical issues and may even be able to look at a problem in ways you haven’t even thought of.
Safety Training
Continuous safety training keeps critical issues at the forefront. Make sure you are administering refreshers and education at regular intervals. And don’t rely on a one-size-fits-all approach. You don’t want to expose workers to a lot of useless information that doesn’t pertain to their role with the company. Create job-specific programs for each group or department.
Clear Communication
A safe workplace requires transparent communication. Everyone on your team should feel comfortable reporting concerns without fear of reprisal. Make sure that information about safety rules can be easily accessed as well. You can’t hold employees accountable for following policies if they don’t know what they are.
Steady Improvement
Your work environment is dynamic, so your safety program must change with it. Regularly review your policies and training protocols to ensure they reflect the latest best practices. If you can make something better and safer, do it. Don’t wait until something goes wrong to make a change.
A safety training guide can help you facilitate continuous improvement by ensuring employees are aware of changing rules and policies. Update it as your policies evolve to ensure everyone knows the latest expectations and can conduct themselves accordingly.
Strategies for Building and Sustaining a Safety Culture
Here are some practical tips to develop a strong safety culture within your company:
Set Clear Expectations
Your employees aren’t mind readers, so you must ensure that everyone knows what’s expected of them when it comes to safety. Set clear, measurable goals and outline specific behaviors you’d like your team to exemplify. These expectations should be communicated during onboarding and regularly reinforced through meetings and training sessions.
Recognize and Reward Safe Behavior
Over time, employees may be tempted to cut corners or skirt around certain policies, especially if they feel like you aren’t even paying attention to how work gets done. But once complacency sets in, it can wreak havoc on your company culture.
Positive reinforcement can help prevent such an outcome and subsequently encourage safe behavior. Recognize team members who consistently follow important protocols. You can publicly acknowledge or reward them with gift cards, extra time off, or other incentives.
Integrate Safety Into Everyday Work
Safety can often feel like a separate item on your to-do list. But you can’t let it become an add-on. It needs to be integrated into everything you do.
Suppose that you are starting a new project. You’ll want to conduct a safety review to identify potential hazards. It doesn’t matter whether your team has completed a dozen similar projects or is taking on something entirely different. Conduct a by-the-numbers review and follow your policies to the letter.
The Role of Leadership in Workplace Safety
As a leader, you must actively demonstrate your commitment to safety by participating in safety initiatives. Attend training sessions and be visible during important briefs. Employees must see you participating in the safety culture you promote.
Additionally, as mentioned earlier, you need to inspire your staff to take ownership of safety by leading by example. Encourage open discussions about concerns and make sure your team sees you practicing the standards you ask them to follow.
Employee Engagement and Participation
Employees are perhaps the most important component of safety culture, but you need them to engage in safety initiatives to effect meaningful change. One great technique to promote involvement across the company involves creating safety committees. These groups can meet to regularly discuss potential hazards and suggest improvements.
You also need to get your team involved in safety decision-making processes, like reporting spills and remediation. Gather feedback from them about how they would handle these situations. These sessions help them view spills and other incidents from your perspective and increase their understanding of the impact of poor safety practices on the company.
Safety Training and Education
Your team members need to be confident when it comes to safety. They should know what to do, how to do it, and how to mitigate risks through cautious behavior. That’s where a safety training program comes into play.
Here are a few tips to make your training and education efforts more effective:
Make Training Role-Specific
Everyone faces different risks, so tailor your training offerings to each person’s specific roles and responsibilities. For example, your office staff will require far less robust safety training compared to industrial teams working on the factory floor. Heavy machinery operators need an entirely different education program, one that highlights the importance of avoiding collisions with other workers and equipment.
By providing targeted, role-specific training, you ensure that everyone receives relevant information and can practice skills to prepare them for the risks they may encounter.
Use Real-World Scenarios
Make your training sessions realistic by using scenarios that could actually happen. Case studies involving past incidents or simulations are great tools for encouraging your team members to take training seriously.
Offer Regular Refreshers
You must train your team more than once a year. Remember that state and federal training standards are minimum requirements. Go above and beyond to keep your team safe.
Measuring and Improving Workplace Safety Culture
You need to be regularly assessing your training programs and overall safety culture. Here are four ways to accomplish that:
Conduct Safety Audits
Safety audits are a great means of evaluating your current culture. Use them to assess compliance with regulations and highlight areas in need of improvement.
Use Surveys and Feedback Loops
Surveys allow you to gather insights directly from your employees. Ask workers about their perception of safety in the workplace. You should also implement anonymous feedback loops that enable team members to voice their concerns without revealing their identity.
Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
KPIs like accident rates and near-miss reports can provide valuable insights into how well your safety culture is functioning. Use these metrics to track your progress over time and identify any positive or negative trends.
Find and Fill Gaps
After you’ve found areas where you are lacking, fill those gaps with targeted improvements. For example, if you find that a particular policy is causing confusion regarding how to perform a specific task safely, alter it. And collaborate with your team to ensure the new language is both easy to understand and relevant.
How AOTC Can Help You Build a Strong Safety Culture
Alpha-Omega Training and Compliance (A-OTC) can help you build a safety-first culture with our customizable compliance training and education solutions. We offer a range of services designed to enhance workplace safety and ensure compliance, such as safety assessments, training programs, and consulting services. Contact us today to learn more about our on-site services.