In workplaces with heavy machinery, hazardous materials, or long hours, safety isn’t just a requirement, it’s a life saver. Leaders must instruct their teams to work efficiently and safely, as no rushed task, hack, or workaround is worth the risk of human injuries.
Successful leaders champion safety efforts, listen to concerns, and make necessary changes to protect their team. This is what committed safety coaching looks like.
In response to widespread challenges faced by leaders in facilitating meaningful safety performance discussions, CMOE created the Safety Coaching Workshop. This research based methodology equips leaders with proven strategies to build a robust safety culture. Delve deeper to discover why safety coaches are essential for your organization.
Why Safety Is Important in the Workplace
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 12 months, there were 2,569,000 nonfatal injuries in the private industry. And there were 5,283 fatal injuries in all sectors.
Additionally, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revealed the 10 most common workplace violations:
- Lack of fall protection
- Lack of hazard communication
- Lack of supportive ladders
- Lack of respiratory protection in contaminated environments
- Improper control of hazardous energy
- Not meeting the requirements for powered industrial trucks
- Lack of fall protection training in construction
- Improper scaffolding in construction
- Lack of construction eye and face protection
- Lack of guardrails around machinery or equipment
Safety Leadership Challenges
Some organizations may assume that once a workplace safety program is established, it will sustain itself. However, this is not the case. Leadership must maintain safety excellence, but in doing so, they may face obstacles and challenges, including:
Lack of Team Participation
If staff are not receptive or open to safety initiatives, it can be challenging to maintain them. Some team members may be skeptical about the motive of leadership looking closer at the daily safety performance. Others may be inclined to prioritize efficiency and results over safety.
There may also be the aspect of worker complacency. Team members may be open to the safety initiative at the onset, but over time, individuals may become more casual and deviate from established protocols. This seems to occur with experienced team members who feel overconfident in their skills and feel their experience exempts them.
Lack of Reporting on Safety Concerns
Team members may hesitate to report unsafe practices for fear of retaliation from their peers or unsupportive leadership. If safety protocols and initiatives are not implemented with a supportive culture, it could create an environment of fear instead of safety.
However, the fear of repercussions is one source of concern with a lack of accurate safety reporting. It also leads to a lack of accurate, real-time data of daily operations and conditions in the work environment. This blind spot will limit leadership from truly understanding where, when, and why unsafe behaviors and conditions occur.
Lack of Staff Safety Education
Worker resistance and a lack of accurate reporting can stem from an insufficient education or understanding of the why behind safety initiatives. Proper safety education provides a roadmap for both leaders and team members to follow and ensures they understand why safety is necessary, how to mitigate safety risks, and the importance of accurate reporting.
Managing Diverse Hazards
Depending on the industry, some operations will work with multiple hazards: materials, machinery, and confined spaces are just a few. Organizations and leaders struggle to assess and manage the risk of each of these hazards individually and when multiple hazards overlap with one another.
Navigating Compliance Standards
Businesses must follow multiple compliance regulations. The challenge arises when regulatory changes occur, creating a ripple effect that affects all aspects of operations.
Balancing Efficiency and Safety
Of course, organizations want to stay productive while staying safe. However, if there is too much pressure on efficiency and numbers, it may make it difficult for staff to follow safety procedures.
They could be concerned that following proper safety procedures will take longer, and managers may criticize or pressure them for taking too long.
Standardizing Safety Across Multiple Locations
Standardizing safety across all locations can be a challenge if a business has multiple sites, facilities, or locations. It requires the management of each location to champion and enforce the unique safety requirements for their operational area.
When safety protocols vary across these diverse settings, senior leaders may remain unaware of the difficulties certain locations face in upholding consistent standards. This disconnect often stems from location or site managers who either lack a clear understanding of the specific safety measures needed, are hesitant to address the disconnect out of fear of appearing ineffective, or think this responsibility should fall to senior safety directors to sort out. This thinking leads to increased safety exposure.
Inconsistent Hazard Assessments
It is the responsibility of designated safety leaders to regularly perform hazard assessments to find areas of improvement. If leadership fails to do this task, there is more exposure and risk to everyone in the facility. Inconsistent assessments lead to higher rates of accidents and injuries that could have easily been prevented.
How Organizations Can Prepare Leaders for Safety Coaching
Here are strategies to develop leaders into effective safety coaches:
Offer Safety Education for Leaders
Just like team members, leaders should also have a thorough understanding and champion workplace safety standards. If they do not understand standards, procedures, and the importance of safety accountability, they cannot coach or impart that knowledge to others. They should also have a working knowledge of where all the safety equipment is located so they can direct their team to these resources.
Educate on the Difference Between Managing and Coaching
Safety leaders need to understand the distinction between safety management and safety coaching, as they represent two distinct roles with different responsibilities and objectives.
Safety management involves a wide range of tactical tasks and responsibilities focused on maintaining a safe workplace. This includes ensuring reporting is completed, identifying hazard or risk areas, documenting safety protocols, conducting safety audits, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
Safety coaching is about creating engagement and collaboration with others including leaders, peers, and team members. It involves having conversations and dialogue related to safety such as reinforcing positive safety behaviors that have been observed, addressing safety performance issues, creating alignment and buy-in around new or revised safety principles, and developing a safety culture through meaningful interactions.
Develop Competent Safety Coaches Quickly
Safety must be paramount for any organization. If your organization or business faces a variety of hazards, ensure you are getting the most out of your safety protocols by building a bench of safety coaches who can maintain standards. While implementing a comprehensive safety coaching program requires initial effort, the payoff is greater adherence to safety practices, reducing exposure to workplace incidents and violations.
If you are looking to build competent safety coaches and leaders, let CMOE be your guide. Our Safety Coaching Workshop, grounded in decades of empirical research, is a global standard for excellence, transforming your people into competent safety coaches who can safeguard your workforce.
Contact us today to learn more about our solutions with one of our safety training experts.
