Making your point 'stick'; linking safety culture to worker motivation
What do you think is the most effective way to convert CEOs who still do not understand the value of safety and health?
Bridle: I often purposely try to draw on a personal experience to make a key point. In safety, this almost always means something involving a close friend or family member.
Talking about friends and loved ones is something we all can immediately relate to, and can be a powerful way of tapping into someone's interest. If the point is made, the follow-through is always to bring it full circle, relating the key point back to the work environment to make it "stick." By reframing the opportunities that present themselves on a daily basis in the form of what is important, what gets recognized and rewarded, and what differences can be attained in the workplace, we can preserve people's quality of life.
What is the role of safety and health in relation to your company's competitiveness in the global economy?
Bridle: Noble provides worldwide drilling services to the exploration and production industry. We are a company that prides itself on delivering the highest standards – both in terms of operational efficiency and in an operating culture that is focused on safety.
Our customers often deliberately seek out and employ contractors that consistently perform at such levels. This can lead to work being favorably renegotiated or extended, or to new work being won. Performance as measured by the industry metrics of lost-time injuries and total recordable incident rate can play an important part in influencing these decisions, and companies that have a poor track record on safety performance or lack commitment from upper management will struggle.
Beyond the statistics and the direct correlation with customer relationships, Noble strives to achieve the highest standards for safety performance for another reason: Real lives are impacted if we get it wrong. Approaching safety from a sense of genuine care and concern, rather than as a compliance requirement, is "felt" by the organization and employees alike. This becomes contagious – and employees, supervisors and managers all embrace a way of work that makes safety personal and keeps a firm eye on all friends, families and loved ones whose lives could be changed forever if we get it wrong. We measure a job as well-done if no one gets injured.
Bridle: I think many companies traditionally have viewed safety, health and environmental management as an "add-on." Furthermore, many companies in the past have opted to employ Total Quality Management principles to manage better SH&E results. Although TQM seems like a sound philosophy, it often misses the essential truth that, for the most part, safety performance is inextricably linked to human behavior.
Find out what motivates people – and frame safety conversations around this – and you are well on your way to creating a better safety culture. For example, if a company is in the midst of layoffs and its employees consider safety something "extra" they do for the company or customer, it will be a challenge to keep those workers motivated. However, if workers see their own safety and health as something that is an essential prequalification to getting future paid work, they will likely remain engaged. I have particularly found this to be the case with cultures in developing countries.
