Talking at the Top

Talking at the Top - how effective do we need to be if people’s lives are at stake?

I believe that every single one of us is only alive today because every single one of our ancestors, right back to the first speck of life on earth, lived long enough to produce a viable offspring that produced another ancestor, and so on down through the millennia. That makes our very existence an infinitely miraculous event when we consider the significant challenges each of our ancestors faced trying to stay alive, given the vast majority that didn’t. If any one of them, at any time in your individual lineage didn’t survive long enough to produce that viable offspring, then you wouldn’t be here. The upside is that you wouldn’t know that you weren’t here; but you are here and you do know it. It also follows that each one of us only has one, short glimpse of this life and in my opinion no one has a right to jeopardise anyone else’s pursuit of their life’s goals while they are here. But we do, despite all the laws prohibiting it.

Should that make a difference to the weight of the conversations for health and safety we carry into the businesses that we work with? Ultimately, if people’s one and only life is at stake should it be that what we say and to whom we say it should get the required amount of attention; but does it, despite all the laws requiring it?

So, what do we think the keys to a successful organisational journey in OHS are? The word ‘key’ is used literally here as I want us to see if we can unlock some consensus on how, as OHS professionals, we can gain more real influence. How good would it be if all of us had the ability to assemble all those factors that the Body of Knowledge suggests are essential to creating places where people genuinely feel that their employer sees and treats them as they would wish to be treated themselves?

We’ve all read the writings on the importance of leadership and commitment in the OHS space, its critical right? That leads to the question of who has the greatest ability to create the culture where OHS comes together and touches the lives of every stakeholder. How many of us are formally embedded into conversations for safety and wellbeing with those at the very top of the businesses in which we work? Who amongst us reports directly to a CEO and the Board? If you do, please post your response as there’s a lot we can learn from each other about how we can truly influence those at this level and thereby the culture of the whole business. In other words, how much influence do we really possess, and is it enough?

If you are fortunate enough to work at this level what practical value comes from the conversations for leadership and commitment that you have and will it make the journey (e.g. Hudson’s Maturity model) so much more effective and rewarding for all concerned? What do the best Leaders do to earn that accolade and how effectively do they interact with their appointed OHS professionals? In essence do you think they TRUST us to influence how the business shows up in the world and in the lives of its stakeholders?

I once asked a group of mid-level managers if they had someone that they loved working in other people’s businesses; most said yes. I then asked how they would feel if their loved one was seriously harmed by another businesses lack of care. They said that they would be seriously angry. I then said that we employ other people’s loved ones too and asked if we were doing everything that we should to take care of them in the same way that we hoped our loved ones were being taken care of. The only problem was that the most important people who should have been in the room weren’t there.

Many health and safety roles are too frequently targeted specifically at the place where it is assumed that ‘real’ work goes on, where the injuries occur, within the operational domains. Doing inspections, audits and correcting non-conformances etc, or trying to, is useful but aren’t there some fundamental considerations missing if we are just looking at the outcome of many assumptions and decisions made in Board rooms and manager’s offices? How can we as the responsible practitioners prevent hazards from causing harm and create and embed the right behaviours within the culture if there is insufficient consideration of health and safety risk at the most senior levels in the business. We are seldom in the best position to influence safety culture if our voices aren’t heard at the top table.

I believe that we are infinitely complex creatures and that we feel a great deal more than we consciously register. We can feel when we are genuinely being taken care of and are in a safe space, and we subconsciously reflect this in our own thinking and behaviour. The group norm becomes one where we actively care for each other, for the safety of the places in which we work and for those who share this space with us, i.e., we adopt and practice the norm. However if everyone isn’t on board, if someone somewhere isn’t buying into the safety ethos then the risks of harm will remain uncontrolled and anyone and everyone is ultimately at risk, right up to the most senior people in the business.

So share your thoughts on how can we begin to convince some of those at the top about the amazing results that come from real, positive leadership and commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of their people. After all, genuine, tangible caring for people gets you infinitely more than just paying them money to do a job.