New Hires Need Safety - Part 5/6 - Creating a Culture of Safety

With the highest rates of injury incurred by the newest staff – we need to make a change at the starting blocks.  Strategies for Fostering a First-Safety-First Mindset:

It all starts with building a great Safety Culture that provides focus from day one. This “safety is a priority” approach sets the tone for the entire workforce. 

Foremost, you must have leadership commitment. Leaders must set clear expectations and leading by example.  The way leaders can do this is by participating in safety training, regularly communicate the importance of safety, share safety goals, progress, and any incidents transparently and allocate resources for safety initiatives (such as training programs and safety equipment).  Offer a wide range of safety training programs and delivery options. Consider including recognition programs and reward employees who follow safety protocols to encourage a culture where everyone values and practices safety.

Employees also play a vital role through safety practices. Involvement in safety committees, providing suggestions and sharing safety ideas and concerns, holding regular safety meetings, review incidents, brainstorm improvements and using continuous safety training.

Another key towards a safety culture is clear and consistent communication through regular safety meetings, newsletters, or even digital platforms. And Finally, the whole process needs ongoing monitoring and evaluation through areas like audits, incident tracking and employee feedback.

Conclusion: The culture of the organization will drive the attitude towards safety.  Leaders must lead by example.  The ultimate responsibility of a leader is to safeguard well-being while advancing outcomes.  If new workers see shortcuts are taken and awarded or bad decisions are tolerated … they will adopt that behavior.  To avoid serious workplace accidents that will have serious long-term impacts develop a culture of safety and implement an effective safety and training program. When it comes to safety – great leaders know that ultimately tomorrow is the reward for working safely today.