I recently had a conversation with a HSE Manager about how an intervention like our SAFETY LEADERSHIP training program can help their people. I understood for the hundredth time how difficult it is for a safety person to convince his General Manager of the usefulness of the safety activity.
Although declarative “in our organization people are the most important resource“, business objectives are still more important. Safety arrives on the agenda only when there is a non-compliance reported by the audit or in the event of an accident.
Managers are pragmatic people, interested in business. To be heard, you must speak their language, the language of business: advantages, benefits, performance, cost reduction, productivity, etc.
For HSE coordinators interested in arguments, I have listed below the benefits of the SAFETY LEADERSHIP course that Corporate Dynamics runs:
- BUSINESS IMPACT: contributes to lower costs, increases labor productivity, reduce sick days and absences, no workforce replacement costs, better ESG score, reduction of internal and external audit nonconformities.
- HR: investment in employee growth and development, increases employee engagement, satisfaction, and wellbeing, decreases the turnover rate, eases the recruitment process through a more attractive employer brand, improves the relationship with the union, heals the organizational culture and its impact on work safety, increases the maturity of the organization in addressing risk.
- MANAGERS: managers improve their psycho-social perspective on risk and organizational culture and thus manage to become better leaders. Increases the involvement of participants in safety meetings, increases the reporting of accidents and near-misses. Managers become a model for effectively addressing risky behaviors of colleagues.
- OPERATORS: become more risk aware and responsible, learn practical methods of risk assessment at work, help build a culture of mutual care and immediately address dangerous and non-compliant behaviors of colleagues, personal and professional development, reduce risk.
- HSE SPECIALISTS: increase their transdisciplinary knowledge, decreases stress with accident investigation, ITM (Territorial Labor Inspectorate), police, prosecutor’s office; receive the knowledge and develop skills that NEBOSH/OSHA curricula etc. do not address; multiply its impact by educating and empowering employees in the program, get new practical tools for tackling risk.
- HUMAN: How much does a hand cost? How much does an eye cost? How much does your or your colleague’s life cost? Is the C.E.O./GM prepared to knock on the door of the victims’ families and, looking into their eyes, explain to them managerially why they did not take the preventive measures that they should and could have taken to prevent the tragedy?
Some of the arguments are here, it’s up to you to present them. You can start with a share!
Rosa Carrillo says
Hello Rob, have those arguments worked for you? I have not seen them work to change financial priorities. I am thinking it’s because decisions are ultimately emotionally driven and not meeting the numbers has a more ominous punch than The thought of people possibly getting hurt. Perhaps it’s because the accident feels like a maybe But the hammer coming down when you don’t meet your numbers is a certainty.
Rob Long says
No, I have already had a chat to Dec and he knows I don’t think like this. I don’t ‘sell’ safety or ‘sell’ anything. Tackling risk is NOT a product and safety is a temporary outcome. I am more interested in talking to GMs and CEOs who are interested in why people do what they do. I often listen to them and what they find challenging in their leadership style. I listen to what they think their vision is and what kind of strategies they undertake to build hope, meaning and community in their organisations.