Corporate safety culture is alive and well — even if we don’t initially see it.
“Safety is our top priority at (insert company name here)” is a line we hear from hundreds of executives, safety managers and marketing teams around the world when asked about their corporate safety culture.
For many of these companies, they mean it — safety is a priority, and their programs, processes and lagging indicator performance reflect that belief.
Along those same lines, we also hear from those who espouse that “safety is a core value.” Much like their peers who proclaim that safety is a priority, many have the programs and record to back up that statement. So, what’s the difference? Isn’t it just semantics as long as you have that commitment to worker safety and worldclass performance?
When viewed through a business lens, it becomes clear that there is a distinct difference. Take the Harvard Business Review which, in an article published in July 2002 by Patrick Lencioni, defines core values as “the deeply ingrained principles that guide all of a company’s actions; they serve as its cultural cornerstones.” Lencioni goes on to define core values as “inherent and sacrosanct; they can never be compromised, either for convenience or short-term economic gain”.
To put this in real-world life terms, think of it this way: each New Year, we might proclaim that “my priority this year is to get to the gym and lose weight.” In fact, statistics show that 12% of new gym members join in January. Yet, the International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association found that 50% of all new health club members quit within the first six months of signing up; by March of each year, new member attendance has “diminished considerably.”
But why? Wasn’t getting in shape our priority? Turns out, priorities change. Why does new member gym attendance diminish considerably by March? For most of the country, March marks the return of pleasant weather. Instead of going to the gym, our priorities might have shifted to spending time with friends outside, or taking the kids to sports practice. In short, our priorities are affected by external environmental factors; literally and figuratively, climate reorders our priorities.
The same can be argued for safety and health cultures — when safety is a priority, it can be affected by the safety climate within a company or work site at any given time. That climate is shaped by any number of factors, from workforce shortages (internal) to the economy (external). While temporary, safety climate can have tremendous effects on a company’s overall safety culture if protecting the health and well-being of every worker isn’t ingrained in every employee.
In life, much like business, a core value is a cornerstone belief that influences behavior and decision-making. Core values are so ingrained in one’s belief system that they operate in the background — we don’t think about them when making decisions because it’s part of who we are. The same goes for safety as a core value. From day one, every employee is taught that there is no compromise when it comes to workplace safety. It’s ingrained in our psyche to the point where decisions at all levels — from front line workers to the CEO — are guided by a subconscious commitment to the safety and health of every employee.
None of this takes away from those companies who proclaim safety as a priority and who back that up with a commitment to a total safety culture that focuses on sending everyone home in the same condition as they arrived. However, a persuasive case can be made that there is a difference — one need only look to the lagging indicator performance of VPP sites compared to industry averages to see that there is merit to holding safety as a core, company-wide value that directly influences every worker’s decision-making process, no matter how big or small the decision.
VPPPA member S&B Engineers and Constructors answers the question best. When describing its safety culture, S&B begins with the following: “We make no compromise with respect to morality, ethics and safety. If a design or work practice is perceived to be unsafe, we do not proceed until the issue is resolved.” That’s safety as a core value. •
For more information, visit vpppa.org.