A Tale of Two Companies – by Safety Speaker John Drebinger coach of effective safety speakers
Safety Speaker John Drebinger’s Weekly Newsletter
February 23, 2012
In this week’s newsletter:
– Dynamic Presentations Institute Scheduled October 3rd, 4th, 5th Santa Ana, CA
– A Tale of Two Companies: Leadership’s Commitment to Safety
– An update on my future speaking schedule – save money and have me at your site
while I am in your area.
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Special Early Announcement
Dynamic Presentations Institute
Scheduled October 3rd, 4th, 5th Santa Ana, CA (Right near Orange County (John Wayne) Airport and near Disneyland.
This incredible event will give you the skills to be an effective safety communicator. More information will follow, for now I wanted you to be able to reserve the date.
So what is the Dynamic Presentations Institute? Look for future newsletters for a detailed description. For now – SAVE THE DATE!
Also, for former attendees you may attend for FREE when you bring a paying attendee
A Tale of Two Companies: Leadership’s Commitment to Safety
Just recently, I was reminded of the challenges some of you face day in and day out. I have joined several discussion groups on LinkedIn and it is clear many of you do not get the management support you deserve. Thankfully, the management and safety leaders I get to visit are the ones who do in fact support their safety teams. One CEO of a company I spoke to said it very well:
“Safety is the footprint of great management.”
That person understood that without protecting the people in the workplace no one could claim to be an effective leader. Making money while allowing an ever-increasing number of people to be injured is not only bad business; it is immoral.
What footprint does your management team leave on the pathway to a safe workplace? Has any level of your leadership begun to lose their way and start down a path that will lead to more injuries?
The following article is dedicated to each of you who are dedicated to the safety of each and every person in the workplace. You can use some of the suggestions at the end to help keep your leadership on the right path. Corporate leadership must always be vigilant; in fact, the same way an experienced worker can become complacent, leadership can do the same.
One of the obvious footprints that I and other safety speakers see is when leadership understands the importance of bringing in outside “voices” to reinforce their safety message. Walking from the meeting to the airport another CEO said to me, “You tell them the same things I have been saying for years and because it comes from outside the organization they will be more likely to take action on it.”
Just yesterday, a plant manager sitting in on my presentation came up to me and reaffirmed his commitment to safety and how important he knows it is to give the safety team the support they need.
Another footprint I see is whether the safety team is struggling to carry out its mission or is getting the support they need. From a safety speaker’s viewpoint I see safety teams that just call Diane at my office and schedule a meeting. The leadership footprint of those going down the wrong path is best described by the conversations I have with many safety teams at national safety conventions or events. Some of you who have been huge fans of my safety presentations share with me how you have tried year after year to bring me in to speak to your employees. That is the footprint of a struggling safety team. By the way, it has nothing to do with who the outside safety speaker is because most of my fellow safety speakers share the same client list I do.
One person replying to one of my newsletters shared they have tried for years to get their management to invest the money it would take to bring me in as a safety speaker. I am sure other safety speakers would echo the observations I make here.
Let me tell you of two companies my marketing director Diane Weiss has had interactions in the past. Both companies are in the same industry and have had me speak on previous occasions. I have changed enough details to protect the identity of the companies.
First, let’s begin with similarities of the two companies.
These companies say no task is so important that it is acceptable to accomplish if it is unsafe. They instruct everyone, employee or contractor, to stop the work if something doesn’t seem safe.
Both companies claim safety is one of their core values (implying it is their highest value). Each one of them has gone through downsizing, hiring freezes and other business events that have affected employee attitudes and their lives. Trust me, these two companies share many more similarities than differences.
Also, as it pertains to my profession, they have hired safety speakers to help reinforce their safety message throughout the year. For safety celebrations or quarterly meetings they have brought in safety speakers and require their entire workforce attend the meetings.
Both had safety team members who have heard me speak at some safety event, either at their company or at a safety conference. The safety team member knew my message, “Would You Watch Out for My Safety” would help their employees prevent injuries to themselves and to others. Enthusiastically, they brought the suggestion to their management.
Now let’s look at some of the differences.
Sometime over the past ten years, one company’s leadership changed their value regarding safety. It was still on their posters, in their corporate statement of values and in their annual report. The difference is that it was no longer in the hearts and minds of their leadership. To be honest, I don’t know why it changed but I can tell you by their safety performance and resulting investigations, there had been a change.
The other company continued their commitment to safety and everything it takes to protect their employees and the public. The following interaction my marketing director had with both tells the rest of the story.
I always do my best to help the people in my organization succeed. I am quite an optimist and yet when Diane told me that the company whose leadership had forsaken safety as a value had called to see about bringing me in for a series of presentations I knew deep inside it wasn’t going to happen.
How did I know this? Simple – the actions of this company over the past several years has shown me and others that their written values statement, which embraces safety, is not what they truly believe. They talk a good game on their website and in their printed materials. They have all the right posters, which proclaim safety as being number one. Yet their actions show it not as a value, but as a priority that changes with the winds of economic circumstances. They did not behave this way before. I personally knew many of their former leaders years ago who truly were committed to safety as a value.
A significant difference was their safety performance over the past decade. This company who once was one of the safest in their industry has slipped to a much lower bar of excellence or lack thereof. The safety of their employees isn’t the only sacrifice made over the years. As with others in their industry, they have an impact on the communities they serve. Sadly, in addition to employees who have suffered fatalities, members of their communities have also lost their lives due to safety cutbacks or a willingness of management to “look the other way” or allow a lower standard of safety.
Changing the definition of what is an acceptable hazard doesn’t do the person injured any favor. When this lower standard results in injury and loss of life it becomes plainly obvious the hazard was always there and the appropriate action wasn’t taken.
Their safety team worked with Diane for weeks to get management all the supporting materials to convince them they should be able to bring me to their site. After several meetings, they were told it wasn’t going to be possible. (Sadly, just as I predicted) Their leadership felt they knew better than those with direct contact with the employees who are at risk every day.
Now let’s take a look at the company whose leadership is on a true path to a safe and injury-free workplace. The footprint I observed was they called to have me come speak at a special meeting they were having of their employees. Their safety person had seen me recently at a safety meeting. When they called Diane informed them that I would not be able to attend, as it would be difficult to get me from their meeting to my next meeting in a different city the following day.
They were committed though and sent me an email showing how I could fit them into my schedule. It would mean some pretty pricy airline tickets because they were being purchased close to the date of my flight. That didn’t matter; their leadership knew my message was just perfect for what the employees were about to take on. Because they were committed, I was able to make both their meeting and the one I had scheduled across the country the next day. It cost them a considerable amount more in airfare but cost wasn’t the important factor.
Their leadership demonstrated their commitment to safety and their confidence in their safety team to know the sessions would be effective and prevent injuries. I still remember one time when a plant manager brought me into his office privately and commented, “I had to hire you to speak today because my safety team was so impressed with your message. I knew if I said no it would be telling them I don’t support what they are doing.” He then thanked me for doing such a great job and their judgment that my message was perfect for them was right.
I can tell you my clients are committed to safety. My fellow safety speakers have also spoken at their sites and would share my opinion. There are many great safety speakers out there, several of whom I have actually coached.
I doubt it is coincidence that the top performers in safety understand the value of bringing in a voice from the outside. They know that safety speakers bring a new voice to a familiar message. Safety speakers let your employees know that you are not alone in your belief in safety as a value. It is often said that actions speak louder than words and one action I see too often is management that professes safety as a value and then fails to support financially and emotionally the team they put in place to ensure the successful implementation of that value.
“The lack of safety commitment is the footprint of poor leadership leading to
the quicksand of employee injuries”’
John Drebinger
How Do You Change Leadership Values or Beliefs?
Questions! That is the best way to change someone who has what I call an un-resourceful belief. Arguing with them is pointless. You can, however undermine their belief with the right questions.
For instance, if you had a new supervisor that thought safety took too much time and interfered with production you could ask, “I wonder why our safest departments are also our most profitable?” or “How is it that Bob’s crew has fewer injuries and has higher profitability than yours? I wonder if safety has a positive effect on production?
Just think of how you could pose a question that would undermine their belief.
The other secret is to ask the question and then let it go. You want the question to work in their brain hours after you are gone. Keep this up over time and you will see a change.
Have fun helping others discover the value of safety.
Feel free to share all or part of this article with your leadership. If they are among those who are great leaders, thank them for their commitment to safety and if not, maybe they will see themselves in this writing and realize it is time to join great leaders who embrace safety as a value.
Yours in Service,
John Drebinger
Places I will be speaking in the next few weeks
Check Out Our New Locations Feature On the Website (Click Here)
Our new feature which shows you on a map where I will be in the months ahead. Call Diane Weiss at 209.745.9419 to have me come to your town.
