Workplace Safety Success Requires Leadership Support

Businesses spend $170 billion annually on costs associated with occupational injuries and illnesses, which are expenditures that come straight out of corporate profits. Workplaces that have established safety and security cultures can reduce their injury and illness costs by 20 to 40%. Even more important than cost is the fundamental need to protect employees. Employee well-being as well as employee retention and brand protection are tied to workplace safety.

The establishment and maintenance of a safe workplace will not come with rules and standards alone; leaders need to reach the hearts and minds of all employees to impact how decisions are made on a daily basis. The development of this safety culture starts with management. When management talks the talk and walks the walk, the company culture will follow and measurable results can be achieved.

When companies look at how to improve workplace safety, leaders must integrate their safety message in all forms of communication. At an executive level, it’s important to make the time to communicate your vision and culture regularly through planned meetings, written communications and face-to-face interactions. A high level of communication between leadership and an organization’s workforce supports trust, engagement and motivation—all factors essential to a safe workplace culture. 

Building a safety culture does not happen overnight. Just like in football where attempts to advance the ball down the field by running or passing generally goes incrementally in fits and stops, the “touchdown” in building a safety culture is an evolution that takes time and commitment.

Read more in Leadership’s Role in Workplace Safety in Safety Outlook magazine.

  About the Author 
  Ron Rabena is a Chief Administrative Officer for Allied Universal.