Should we keep calling it a “safety meeting” when it is about so much more? Has the phrase been overused to the point of automatic boredom? Dr. John Medina, the bestselling author of “Brain Rules,” says, “Repeat to remember.” But Medina also says, “We don’t pay attention to boring things.” Unfortunately, people can hear about safety so often it becomes monotonous. Have you ever noticed how eyes glaze over and energy levels start sinking during many safety meetings? When one considers the cost of preparation, travel time to and from the meeting, and the salaries of attendees, we may be paying an awful lot of money for the privilege of people tuning us out. More importantly, if they are not focusing and remembering what was said, they still may be in just as much danger of having an accident.
How can safety be discussed over and over without inspiring boredom? Perhaps we can make good use of the inherent selfishness of human nature. At heart, even the most generous of individuals are interested in personal benefits. A former professor used to regularly remind his students, “WIIFM!” (pronounced wiffum). The acronym stands for “What’s In It For Me?” It was a reminder to couch our interests in terms of what’s in it for the person we are trying to influence. So, why not couch safety in terms of what’s in it for the attendees? Instead of talking “safety,” why not talk about what is naturally interesting to people? Here are 10 ideas for safety meeting topics and angles:
- Higher pay — In a one-year study, the National Safety Council estimated the costs of civilian occupational injury/illness at approximately $250 billion. What if that $250 billion could have been applied as profit to the bot-tom line? How much higher could employee wages and bonuses climb if we eliminate that kind of waste?
- Job security — When safety becomes an issue, employees can lose jobs, contractors can lose contracts and companies can be shut down by regulators. Working is not an inalienable right, but rather a privilege that must be protected continually.
- Job satisfaction — When accidents happen, more rules are put in place and the work environment becomes more stringent. Closer supervision becomes necessary, more controls are implemented and job satisfaction can be adversely affected.
- Quality of life — Accidents can be inversely proportional to how much we enjoy family, special occasions and vacations for the rest of our lives. Who wants to take an adventurous, scenic drive across the country if he/she is suffering from chronic back pain? How do you tie a tie or button a shirt without a thumb? How do you enjoy a sunset with loss of vision or enjoy a fireside chat with loss of hearing?
- Professionalism — Safety is a mark of true craftsmanship. Those who are truly skilled know more than just how to do the job; they know how to do the job safely. Amateurs take shortcuts, ignore warnings and fail to calculate risk.
- Longevity — According to OSHA, 12 people will die at work today due to accidents. For every death, there were on average 30 lost workday cases leading up to the fatality, according to a 2003 study conducted by ConocoPhillips Marine. It’s not just about safety; it’s about living longer.
- Moral duty — Our conscience tells us it is wrong to get someone hurt when it could have been avoided. When we ourselves are injured by our own carelessness, our loved ones suffer with us to some degree. It is wrong for us to put our loved ones through it unnecessarily. We have a moral duty to work safely.
- Achievement — We love scoring points, especially in a competition. Set a challenging goal by which success is measured. Compete with other groups. Celebrate the statistics and applaud the champs who are making it happen.
- Loyalty — We are our brother’s keepers. We have each other’s backs. We don’t let each other get hurt. When one person gets hurt, we all fail because we all are responsible to make sure everybody goes home safe every day.
- Personal intellect — When we avoid accidents, we are actually demonstrating our intellect. It is our intelligence that allows us to anticipate the various possible outcomes of our actions before we perform them. It is our intelligence that allows us to continually calculate risk at every step in the midst of performing a task.
For more information, contact Mike Bischoff or Ray Smith at (281) 461-9340, email sales@tamanagement.com or visit www.tamanagement.com.