How to build a Safety Culture – Top Down, Bottom Up, Inside Out?
Very interesting new discussion just started on the LinkedIn group: Work Health Safety (OHS) Leadership for All (Australia). Love the brilliant analogy of the stalactites and stalagmites, so true and somewhat scary when one considers how our current systems are currently evolving! I am looking forward to the comments.
Imagine you’re sitting in a cave for a very long time, not days, weeks but thousands of years. It’s very, very quiet and all you can hear are the droplets of water on the floor below.
As time goes by the calcite in the water begins to form stalactites on the roof above (top down) and stalagmites on the floor below (bottom up).
Over time both begin to grow slowly, but the stalactites grow quicker due to their hollow straw like structure. The stalagmites however are slower to form because they are solid inside. The base of the stalactites tend to be smaller due to the weight they have to carry and they often break off and start again, where as the stalagmites bases are larger and more stable and stronger.
Stalactites can be compared to a top down driven culture, where leaders tend to set the tone of the culture and build systems and procedures that they think the workforce should adopt. They then try and cojole the workers to use them with safety briefings, toolbox talks, permits to work etc, etc. All seems to go well, until the paperwork becomes overpowering (top heavy) or the charismatic leader leaves or dies and the system falls apart.
Stalagmites can be compared to a bottom up culture, where the workers are nurtured from above (the dripping calcite) and empowered to build the very culture they want to adopt. As time goes by, the stable culture grows steadily outward at the base influencing more people and steadily climbs upward towards its goal (Utopia), although this might take thousands of years to create.
Which one is more sustainable?
See the discussion here: Work Health Safety (OHS) Leadership for All (Australia)
A suggested Plan for building a safety culture:
Step 1: Develop, the expected values, beliefs and attitudes. ‘One policy’ can even be written, made visible and regularly communicated to all workers
Step 2: Gap analysis…where are we know and where should we be compliance wise
Step 3: Get a system…AS/NZ 4801 or the simple Worksafe Plan so you have a starting point to analyse where your gaps or weaknesses are
Step 4: Develop a Safety Management Action plan to fill any gaps you find with KPI’s with timelines and personal accountabilities
Step 5: Get rid of the word Management and replace it throughout the organisation with the word ‘Leadership’.
Step 6: Educate and train the Management & Supervisors of their obligations under under the Act and train them in EQ (emotional intelligence). Teach them how to work with unions
Step 7: The leaders then ‘walk the talk’ so they can portray the values, beliefs, and attitudes and this will build a ‘TRUST’ factor with the HSR’s and workers…
Step 8: Reward initiative and provide mechanisms to involve workers in decision making and stimulate their intellect, not ignore it.
Step 9: There must be a robust ‘proactive’ hazard reporting process at all costs in place not a ‘reactive’ incident reporting philosophy
Step 10: Smile and have a laugh at work…organisational health and wellness is critical
Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below