THREE STEPS TO HIGH-IMPACT SAFETY ENGAGEMENT
Despite its frequent use and abuse, engagement is more than just an annoying business buzzword. It’s fundamental to a thriving and (most importantly) safe workplace.
But here’s the rub: engagement isn’t something you just whip up. It isn’t a one-off ‘do an engagement thing’ and be done with it.
It must be intentional. And it must be earned.
Fortunately, there are a bunch of simple, practical tools you can use to engage your people and teams.
Having recently wrapped a three-hour discussion at the AIHS National Conference in Melbourne, with the topic still fresh, let’s dive into the art and science behind engagement.
We’ll briefly discuss why it matters, share practical and proven strategies to achieve it, and provide a glimpse at how it can transform your organisation.
Why engagement matters
Why does engagement matter?
Really, we should be asking: what could matter more? This is especially true in high-risk industries, where the risks are… well, higher, along with the stakes. In these workplaces, an engaged workforce is more likely to actively follow safety protocols, actively participate in training, report hazards, and look out for each other.
When people feel a sense of ownership and responsibility, it creates an all-round healthier work environment with fewer incidents. Engagement also improves productivity and morale — which in turn further improves productivity and morale. Again… and again… and again… and again… and again… and again…and again…….
The three building blocks of good great engagement
01. Communication: The foundation of trust
Communication isn’t about pushing information out. That, friends, is a lecture.
Effective communication is a two-way thing. In fact, the origin of the word communication can be traced back to the latin communis, which means ‘to share’. Meaning communication isn’t just give — it’s give and take.
People need to feel like they’ve had the chance to be heard — and valued. This could be through regular meetings encouraging group contribution, open forums, and feedback channels (anonymous, if that helps).
These activities all help bridge the gap between leadership and frontline, building trust and encouraging important questions and safety discussions. This in turn leads to a workforce more committed to shared safety goal.
02. Involvement: Making safety everyone’s business
‘Involvement’s easy!’, we hear you say. Just make training sessions mandatory — involvement guaranteed!
Ah, yes. But…
There’s a big difference between voluntary and mandatory involvement.
If it’s simply about ticking a box, then yes, we can coerce involvement. But we can’t mandate engagement. The most we could expect would be for people to coast through training on autopilot — clicking absently while their attention is on whatever’s happening in the news, at home, or on Instagram.
Far better to give people the opportunity to actively participate — to choose to opt in. This could be through a safety committee, peer-led training session, or (at the very least) training specifically designed for the intended audience. People are far more likely to be invested in the outcome, while shared responsibility creates a culture where safety is a collective priority.
We’ve used this approach with safety leaders from Coles, Ventia, and Hansen Yuncken, with great results.
03. Recognition: Celebrating safe practices
Initial interest is one thing. But getting people to stick around all the way to the season finale? Sheesh!
Fortunately, we have something TV producers don’t — the ability to reward and recognise the audience. By acknowledging people for their safety contributions, we don’t just boost morale — we reinforce positive behaviours.
Recognition can range from simple thank-you notes and shout-outs during meetings, to more formal awards and incentives. One example that comes to mind is the monthly ‘Safety Stars’ award within one of Woolworths Group’s business units. By celebrating safety milestones and achievements, this award builds a positive safety culture that motivates the entire team to keep getting better (and safer, obviously).
Turning theory into practice
So how do we actually implement these principles?
Well, we start with discovery and establishing baseline data. This could be a thorough assessment of current engagement levels, using surveys, interviews, and any other discovery data we can get our PPE-clad hands on.
From there, we can develop a plan tailored to the audience, while also addressing the organisation’s unique needs and challenges. (If you’re not sure exactly how to do this, you can always get in touch).
We frequently borrow techniques from the advertising and branding world. Because ultimately, we’re actually out to achieve exactly the same thing: behaviour change. It’s just that where advertising tempts people to buy things they don’t need, we want people to make the right decisions and take the right actions to go home safely to their families every day.
One tool straight from the big-branding playbook is driving emotions. This activity helps determine how we want people to feel when engaging with safety. Unconvinced of the effectiveness of using emotions in communication? You only need to look at any political campaign, the success of Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ ads or Dove’s efforts to redefine beauty. Quite unreasonably, emotions drive behaviour in a way logic doesn’t.
And if you only take one thing away from this entire post, it should be this: engagement isn’t a one-time event. It demands constant attention. So it’s crucial to regularly review and refine your programs and initiatives to ensure they’re hitting the mark.
The transformative
impact of engagement
So you’ve taken the first steps to engaging your people. What should you expect to see over time?
Well, from experience, we’d expect a decline in incidents and near-misses, improved compliance with regulations, and a more proactive approach to risk management.
An engaged workforce also tends to exhibit greater loyalty to the organisation. When people feel valued and involved, they’re less likely to leave, which helps reduce turnover (and the associated costs). And, as our collaborators tell us time and again, it’s tough finding people who want to work in high-risk industries these days — so anything you can do to retain talent is a very good thing.
There’s so much more to explore here, but that’s more than enough for now. We’ll be sharing more about engagement in the future, so keep one eye on your inbox.
Want to keep the conversation about engagement going, specifically regarding your workforce? It’s super easy to book a discovery call.
