In the June 2017 issue of EHS-Today is an article about engaging and training workers as a foundation block for an effective safety program, while applying critical thinking principles. The intent, of course, is to seek out more and more opportunities to have people involved and participating in safety risk assessment, engaging at a grassroots level for finding solutions and training whole teams in the entire process. At a deep level, each of us knows that having people involved and with you in moving your business or organization forward is a good thing!
But are we doing it? Are we engaging our people well? Or are we giving this lip service? Are we just trying to check off the box?
The recent 2017 Gallup Report on Employee Engagement tells it like it is. Gallup estimates that actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. up to $605 billion each year in lost productivity. They found that only 33% of U.S. employees are engaged in their job, and slightly more than half of employees (51%) say they are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings. Further, most employees leave, not because of the Company per se, but because of their boss’s behavior.
The report also shows that when a business or organization has high levels of employee engagement, that there is a 71% reduction in Employee Safety incidents, a 17% increase in productivity and a 24% reduction in turnover. (Duh!) These are significant pay-offs to note for both employees and employers!
Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg! What Employers, CEOs, Managers, and Supervisors are also missing are two other important linkages – tied to levels of authentic engagement:
- Workplace Violence Connections: When knotty problems are left unresolved, when changes are imposed on people (without their input), when incivilities go unchecked, when team improvement sessions are absent, the risk of workplace violence and related dysfunctional behaviors increases. The call for honest engagement beckons.
- It is crucial to have high emotional intelligence among Supervisors: Supervisors with positive impact possess high EQ. Old school managers that remain in the “my way or the highway” mode and that cannot create/support a culture of authentic engagement with their people, ultimately become a detriment to overall organizational success. So a learning environment, engaging everyone, is important.
It doesn’t take much to learn an integrated, on-going, constructive dialog process that can improve safety, fully engage employees, resolve the hidden elephants that are getting in the way, lift up any workplace violence behavioral concerns (from incivilities to bullying to harassment to vengefulness to deeper dysfunctions) while building the energy necessary to move forward with coherence and collaboration. And it can be accomplished quickly.
I challenge you to call me (716-622-6467) to learn about Partner-Centered-Leadership and how our Process can help you to glean some multi-faceted, on-going, engagement successes soon!
I just saw an announcement that the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety was closing after 59 years, to reduce costs. The ISO 45001 Standard is in the final stages and is aimed at improving safety around the world. Yet some people are reacting that it will not make a difference because of management indifference or cost restraints.
Many of you who have been reading this newsletter know that our emphasis is on Partner Centered Leadership. We emphasize the importance of supervisors and managers getting into their workplaces each day and talking with the people. Talking with the people is a key to breaking through to safety excellence. Talking about the risks they face each day, how they are managing them, how their kids are doing, how the safety is doing, how the business is doing, asking them what they see as to ways to improve their own work, asking about problems they are dealing with, etc. Doing this with respect and really listening are vitally important.
The American Society for Safety Engineers (soon to be The American Society for Safety Professionals) in Denver, Colorado, on June 19-22, 2017, was attended by about 5,000 people. This was a record for attendance. There were lots of papers and a huge trade show exhibit. I never saw so much safety equipment and other offerings.
I love talking with people and getting to know them. Sometimes it is really interesting and sometimes it gets quite funny. The other night I was at the local piano bar, sitting between two older gentlemen. One was an 86-year-old retired colonel who was pretending to play his imaginary drums along with the piano player and the other guy introduced himself to me 5 times in the first 10 minutes. Sometimes you just don’t know until you start talking.
As the snow begins to melt and the spring winds arrive, it is time for cleaning up the place. Mud season is upon us as the snow melts. All sorts of curious things emerge from the melting piles of snow; stuff that was covered up and lost. (Just imagine: Years ago the settlers kept their animals sheltered next to their houses or barns attached to their houses so that they could care for them when the winter cold set in. They really had to do the spring-cleaning!)
Each time the construction cycle picks up, more people get killed, mostly from falls. Some falls are the result of poor footing. Some falls result from poor housekeeping and clutter. Some falls result from inadequate barricading of edges or open holes in the floors. Some falls result from poor pre-shift preparations and the work is started before things are ready. Some falls result from people rushing to get the work done quickly. Some falls result from some people being careless.
With all the uncertainties and variable working conditions, all of you need to be looking out for each other – I mean really watching and helping each other. Being ready and willing to stop unsafe work is important. It is critical that information flows freely so that everyone knows what is going on and are able to work closely together.
We know that it can, and we prove it over and over again, as we work with leaders, their teams, and their businesses.
