Overcoming the key person risk in safety
Losing a key safety leader can bring an entire organisation’s safety culture to a standstill, leaving teams vulnerable and standards slipping. This month we’re diving into the hidden dangers of a safety ‘key person risk’, with some ideas about how organisations can overcome it.
We’ve been fascinated by the concept of a ‘key person risk’ for a while. Originating in the insurance sector, companies would apparently take out policies on critical employees whose sudden departure could jeopardise business operations.
Over time, we’ve seen this idea expand to various fields, from finance and legal practices to technology firms, where the departure of a key individual—such as a CEO, software developer, or patent holder—can leave a void that disrupts operations, diminishes value, or even threatens the company’s survival.
Probably the most widely cited example of a key person risk is from the tech industry. In 2011, when Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple, passed away, many feared the company’s innovation engine would stall. Jobs had been the driving force behind iconic products like the iPhone and MacBook, and investors and employees alike questioned whether Apple could continue without him at the helm. While Apple successfully navigated this challenge by institutionalising its innovation processes — hello, biggest company in the world — not all companies fare as well when losing key leaders.
Similar challenges arise with safety leaders too.
The reality of key person risk in safety
Good safety leaders play a crucial role in embedding safety practices and culture within an organisation. However, when they leave, the organisation is left vulnerable—without their leadership, safety momentum can stall, performance may decline, and the risk of incidents may increase.
The Everyday Massive team spent some time in the USA this month where we heard some salient examples of the key person risk in safety. We learned of one organisation that had 1700 manufacturing locations across the 50 states of the US, with only 12 safety Managers, two safety Directors and one safety Vice President to keep safety on track. Imagine the impact of any one of those individuals moving on?
There was another example of a safety leader being promoted to a global role for a parts manufacturing company, which left her Americas role vacant and unfilled for four years. All the momentum she had built as the EHS lead in the Americas role, just stalled.
We can think of numerous other examples from over the years, but one last one that comes to mind is a safety leader who we’d worked alongside for five years helping to shift a global organisation from a focus on safety metrics and compliance to an environment that prioritised people, relationships and trust. When they departed, they were replaced with a leader who saw no value in people, so reverted to compliance. Five years of deliberate work to build a more mature safety culture was undone within months.
We know from the work that we do that exceptional safety leaders create environments where safety is about more than compliance — it’s a deeply held value within the organisation. These leaders foster a culture of engagement, accountability, and a strong sense of responsibility across teams. However, just like in other industries, when these leaders leave, their influence often goes with them.
This risk is probably more significant in high-risk industries such as mining, construction, and manufacturing, where safety must be actively managed every day. The departure of a key safety leader without a proper succession or strategic framework in place can result in a breakdown of safety processes, disengagement from employees, and, ultimately, an increase in workplace incidents.
This is part of the reason why we’ve been so focused on supporting organisations to embed a safety operating system as a core organisational value.
Establishing safety as a core pillar with an SVP
The Safety Value Proposition (SVP) offers a solution to key person risk by embedding safety deeply into the organisation’s structure and culture. An SVP ensures that safety doesn’t rely on one great leader but becomes a shared responsibility, ingrained in the organisation’s DNA.
By creating a safety operating system that transcends individual leadership, organisations can maintain safety standards and performance regardless of changes in personnel.
At the heart of an SVP is a clear safety promise. This is not just a statement of intent, but a guiding principle that aligns safety with the company’s core values and operations. It defines how safety should be approached at all levels of the business, from frontline workers to executive leadership.
Using a science-backed human centred design approach, an SVP sets clear expectations and behaviours, and gives organisations a clear decision-making framework for safety and wellbeing. It makes safety an enduring commitment, one that can outlast any single leader.
For when the risk is personal (or just person-specific)
While a key person risk can be a significant challenge in safety-critical environments, we see the implementation of a Safety Value Proposition as a robust solution.
An SVP transforms safety from an individual-led initiative into an organisational pillar, ensuring that safety and wellbeing are maintained across all levels, even in times of leadership change.
By embedding safety into every part of the organisation, an SVP mitigates the risks associated with leadership turnover, creating a culture where safety is priotised and part of ‘the way we do things around here’ to help our people thrive.
For organisations looking to future-proof their safety efforts and reduce their dependence on key individuals, an SVP offers a path forward, ensuring safety remains strong no matter who’s in charge.
We reckon that’s something worth celebrating!
Got a story to share on the safety key person risk?
Wait, don’t go just yet. If you’re a great safety leader who has moved through different organisations in your career, we’d love to learn more about your experience of this. What happened to safety when you left? What were the first things you chose to focus on in your new role?
We’re collecting stories and we’d love to hear yours. Shoot us an email and our Chief Strategy Officer Jess Daly will be in touch to connect.
