No leader wants to face the heart-wrenching task of informing a team member’s family about a workplace injury or, worse, a fatality. Leading a culture of health, safety, and wellbeing demands genuine commitment and unwavering consistency. Here are five actionable tips to help you effectively lead your team toward a stronger safety culture.
1. Put Your Own Oxygen Mask on First (Template)
Before you can lead a safety culture, you need to have a strong safety mindset. Begin by defining your personal “why” for safety, health, and wellbeing.
- Reflect on Personal Values: Consider what safety, health, and well-being mean to you. Reflect on past experiences, both positive and negative, that have shaped your perspective. Identify the core values that drive your leadership actions and decisions.
For example, if productivity is a core value to you, then how does that impact how you lead safety? Are you focussing the team on getting the job done quickly or safely?
- Identify Key Motivations: Understand why you need to live safely and strive to stay safe. This could be for personal reasons, such as wanting to stay healthy for your family, or workplace reasons, like ensuring a safe working environment for your team.
For example, I need to stay safe because I want to be able to enjoy activities with my children as they grow up, or I need to stay healthy so I can go mountain biking on the weekends, which I love.
- Communicate Your Why: Clearly articulate your personal “why” and share it with others. This can inspire and motivate those around you, creating a culture of safety and wellbeing.
For example, encourage your team to create their own “why” for safety. Bringing photos of what motivates them to stay safe to work and posting them near their workstation can be a powerful reminder of why they should speak up if they feel unsafe.
2. Use Storytelling (video of OWL or Grab and Go guide)
Create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their safety, health, and wellbeing stories—whether they are positive or negative. Storytelling engages the emotional part of our brains and builds learning through connection. People will remember a story far longer than they will a string of statistics.
- Use the OWL Model to Share Stories:
- Outline the Scene: Build a picture of the situation. Where were you? Who was there? What was happening?
- What Happened: Describe the incident, accident, or near miss in detail.
- Learn from Safety: Highlight what can be learned from the story and how it connects to health, safety, and wellbeing. Make it relevant to the situation.
- Share Stories Regularly: Incorporate storytelling into meetings or toolboxes to emphasise key learnings. Remember to link the story to a key safety message that you would like your team to learn.
3. Include Safety, Health, and Wellbeing in Regular Conversations
Integrate safety, health, and wellbeing into your daily interactions with your team.
- Regular Check-ins: During morning meetings, ask team members to rate how they feel on a scale of 1 to 5. A five indicates “I’m good to go,” while a one signals that the person is struggling. If someone rates a one or two, take the time to listen and show genuine care.
- Provide Support: Your role as a leader isn’t to solve everything. Ensure you know the support services your business offers so you can refer team members to the right resources when needed.
- Monthly One-on-Ones: Discuss safety, health, and well-being during your regular catch-ups with team members. Ask questions to find out how they are feeling and whether there are any issues you should be aware of. Remember, they are often the experts, so this is a good time to learn from them. This is also a good opportunity to celebrate the good stuff that you are seeing and hearing.
4. Create a Safe Environment
Psychological safety is crucial for building a strong health, safety, and wellbeing culture. If you react harshly to unsafe situations, your team will be reluctant to share their concerns. Learn to embrace the tough stuff and see it as a learning opportunity.
- Maintain Open Communication: Ensure team members feel comfortable reporting safety hazards, risks, and incidents without fear of reprimand.
- Keep calm: If you see someone behaving unsafely, rather than reacting harshly, stop, take a breath, and discuss the situation with them calmly. Look for reasons why they may be behaving unsafely. Is there a process that doesn’t make sense? The frontline are often the experts. Take time to find out more. Be curious.
- Establish a Routine: Run regular safety briefings, toolbox talks, and easy to use reporting systems to give people the opportunity to raise their concerns. Encourage people to share and thank them when they do.
- Recognise Contributions: Acknowledge and appreciate when team members speak up about safety concerns. Share these learnings across the business.
5. Recognise and Reward Safe Behaviour
Cultural shifts require time and continuous reinforcement. Recognising desired behaviours encourages others to follow suit.
- Seek Opportunities for Recognition: Look for ways to acknowledge team members’ contributions, no matter how small. Even a simple pat on the back can be appreciated.
- Implement Recognition Programmes: Develop a reward programme for team members who demonstrate a commitment to safety. This could include monthly or quarterly awards, certificates, or small incentives like gift cards or time off.
- Celebrate Successes: Encourage the sharing of positive stories and celebrate successes. Proactively sharing good news can balance the tendency to focus on the negative.
By implementing these practical steps, you can lead your team towards a stronger, more resilient health, safety, and wellbeing culture.
