The risk management firm PMA Companies recently released a report, Six Steps to a Safer Workforce: Building Accountability as an Essential Element for Injury Prevention in the Healthcare Industry. The report says a safety program that includes top-management commitment, plus accountability for safety at every level, will help optimize productivity, keep employees safe and healthy, and reduce costs.
Although PMA wrote the report for healthcare firms, these guidelines apply to any industry and any workplace; for more on building a safety culture, see Establishing a Safety Culture in the Workplace.
Six steps to a safer workforce
- Create a safety environment. Start with top management and focus on observable actions that make safety part of daily work.
- Demonstrate your commitment. Implement clear policies (including consistent consequences for violations) and a strong safety program led by mid-level supervisors. Build a system of accountability that includes documentation, thorough training, clear communication, and consistent follow-through.
- Focus on unit leaders. Mid-level managers and supervisors should buy in and participate, since they largely maintain the culture of safety. Address both unsafe employee behavior and failures by managers to enforce policies.
- Give managers authority to act. Empower supervisors to choose safer materials and equipment or to change work practices and schedules when those changes reduce risk.
- Measure safety. Use reliable loss-trend and performance data to set unit-based safety goals and monitor progress.
- Encourage safety-minded decisions. Train employees to identify the safest solution in routine tasks and hold all staff accountable for choosing that option.
The report concludes that the benefits of stronger employee safety can be profound: employee satisfaction tends to increase and turnover often decreases when organizations commit to a safe work environment.
Effective communication and consistent practices help realize those benefits; learn more about improving safety communication at Enhancing Workplace Safety Communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "accountability" mean in a safety program?
Accountability means everyone understands their safety responsibilities, documents actions, receives training, and faces consistent follow-through when rules are not followed.
Who should lead a workplace safety program?
Senior management should set the tone, while mid-level managers and supervisors are responsible for day-to-day leadership and enforcement.
How can a company measure whether its safety program is working?
Track reliable loss-trend data, set unit-level goals, and monitor both leading indicators (like training completion) and lagging indicators (like injury rates) to gauge progress.