12 Things I've Learned In My First 12 Months In H&S (Nos 1 - 4)
Robert McKinlay
HSE storyteller | Corporate scriptwriter | Workshop facilitator | Employee engagement expert | Campaign Director at We Are Brass Tacks
After a year of being an accredited Health and Safety professional, oh yes, just call me Bobby NEBOSH! I thought now would be a good time to share some of the things I have learned over the past 12 months in my efforts to arrange a marriage between creative comms and HSE...
1. Passion in responsibility – Many times in my previous career I was underwhelmed and unimpressed with the health and safety bods. Largely because it was a role lumped in with other duties. Something you did on top of your ‘proper work’. Since being immersed in the world of H&S professionals however, you really see the difference. The people you engage with on a daily basis have a real, almost tangible passion for keeping people safe. They aren’t going through the motions, not just ticking boxes, their motives are as clear and as pure as anyone in any position of care.
2. Everybody deserves to feel safe - Whether you are on the shop floor, in the engine room or top brass with your own corner office and a business hammock, the campaigns you create and the motives you employ have to cover everyone, and more importantly be seen to cover everyone. There is no room for exclusivity in safety and as accidents don't discriminate, you can’t afford to either.
3. There aren’t enough hours in the day – Sure, the end result may be a slogan or a poster or a newsletter and something that takes 30 seconds to view but the leg work behind that is so much more. Concept discussion, forums, planning, writing, re-writing, feedback, proofing, simplifying, wash, rinse, repeat until you get to the very root of the problem you are trying to solve. The number of angles considered and man hours it takes to generate difference making ideas is staggering. A real challenge.
4. It’s all about stickiness – What you create has to be memorable. There is no profit in pouring your heart and soul into something only to have it forgotten the second your audience turns away to put the kettle on. It has to be catchy, it has to resonate and for want of a better word it has to be infectious. It has to stay with them long after they hear the jingle.
Nos 5 - 8 coming soon, until then...
Bah-dah bah bah baaaaaah, wear your seatbelt!
Robert
WABT