How to Get Your Workers Committed & Engaged for Safety
If your safety program only works when you’re in the room, your safety program isn’t working! So how do you get your team to follow the rules even when the boss isn’t around? Start by gauging your team's safety commitment level, then keep them engaged with these five tips:
- Make Your Safety Committee Inclusive
- Let Workers Help to Choose PPE
- Start a Reward Program
- Keep Communication Flowing
- Avoid a Culture of Blame
Gauge Your Team’s Safety Commitment Level
Start by figuring out where your safety culture is right now in terms of compliance. People tend to work at one of three levels:
Noncompliant
“I won’t do it”
Compliant
“I have to do it”
Committed & Engaged
“I want to do it”
It’s very common for workers to stay at Level 2 where they’re compliant only because they have to be. Why? Because many safety cultures rely on a system of catching people doing something wrong. So your people may only be vigilant until they think nobody is watching, making accidents much more likely.
Keeping Workers Committed to Your Safety Program
The secret to keeping your workers at Level 3 is to make everyone an active part of your safety culture through positive reinforcement and good leadership. Use these tips to keep your people engaged:
1. Make Your Safety Committee Inclusive
Be sure your safety committee includes people from all levels of your organization. You should have as many members in hard hats as you have in collared shirts to elevate workplace safety ideas and awareness. If workers feel heard, they’ll feel bought-in. And as a bonus, you’ll get their good input and ideas that are based on experience doing the job.
2. Let Workers Help to Choose PPE
Set up a PPE wear-testing program to allow your people to pick gear that they find comfortable and usable. Having a voice in the PPE they have to wear every day gives them ownership and makes them much more likely to willingly use it.
3. Start a Reward Program
Boost your safety culture with a safety incentive program. If workers know there are prizes for coming up with suggestions that make your facility safer, they’ll start actively looking for ways to improve. You might even give workers safety pop quizzes as you walk around your facility and provide simple but fun rewards like t-shirts or cool safety glasses for right answers.
4. Keep Communication Flowing
Help everyone contribute ideas and concerns by having smaller safety meetings, trainings, and toolbox talks. While some people are comfortable in large groups, you may be missing out on valuable input from the introverts on your team if you only ask for feedback when everyone is gathered. Smaller meetings of no more than 5 to 10 people can help workers feel more comfortable speaking up.
5. Avoid a Culture of Blame
Make sure your culture focuses on keeping everyone safer rather than punishing those who break the rules. Let your people know that coming forward with a safety concern won’t get someone in trouble, but it might save them from an injury or worse. Make it clear that it truly is their business if another worker is lifting a heavy item wrong or taking off their gloves by explaining the ripple effect that injuries can have on the whole team if something goes wrong.
Don’t hide in the shadows! Give your workers ownership and make everyone personally committed to safety.
CONTACT ONE OF OUR SAFETY SPECIALISTS TODAY!
