David Cant
'Mind The Risks'
Health and safety conversations

How to approach a worker about a health and safety issue.

Hey there!

I want to share some tips on how to approach your fellow workers when it comes to health and safety issues. We’re all in this together, and it’s important that we look out for each other’s well-being.

So, let’s dive into it with a friendly and problem-solving attitude.

Approach with Care

First things first, approach your co-worker with a friendly and understanding attitude.

Remember, sometimes people don’t realise they’re doing something unsafe. We all have our habits, and safety might not be top of mind.

So, no finger-pointing here, and don’t assume they’re intentionally being unsafe.

Be Clear and Concerned

When discussing their behaviour, be clear and objective.

Avoid sounding like you’re criticising them.

Instead of saying something like, “I can’t believe you climbed the ladder that way! Don’t you know what could happen?” try a more empathetic approach.

Say something like, “I saw the way you climbed that ladder, and I’m concerned you could get hurt.”

This way, you’re showing them that you genuinely care about their safety.

Explain the Why

It’s crucial not just to point out the problem but also to offer a solution.

Give clear instructions on the right behaviour and explain why it matters.

For instance, say, “I’d prefer that you get someone to hold the ladder for you. We want you to go home safely. If that means taking time to get help, I’d rather you do that than rush and risk getting hurt.”

By doing this, you’re guiding them and helping them understand the importance of the change.

Secure Their Commitment

Research has shown that people are more likely to follow through when they commit to change.

So, after your discussion, check if they understand and are on board.

You could ask, “Can I count on you to do this?” or “Do you agree to this?”

This step ensures that everyone is on the same page and committed to a safer work environment.

Offer Your Support

Lastly, let them know that you’ve got their back.

Tell them that if anyone questions their new behaviour or if they spot a risk themselves, you’re there to support them.

Leading by example and being consistent with health and safety practices is essential.

Say something like, “If anybody questions why you’re doing it this way, I can help explain it to them and let them know I expect all staff, including me, to do it this way.”

Remember, you’re a team, and you’re all responsible for each other’s safety.

By approaching these safety conversations with care and understanding, you can create a culture of health and safety that benefits you all.

Stay safe, and look out for one another!

A health and safety consultants journey

A journey in safety management empowering positive change

Hello there, fellow safety professionals!

I want to share a journey of the old me and the new me, a personal transformation from the negative to the positive regarding safety management.

Safety is not just a set of rules and regulations; it’s a way of life we must embrace wholeheartedly.

So, let’s embark on this journey together, and I hope my experiences and insights can inspire and guide you toward becoming a more proactive safety professional.

Let’s dive in.

Self-reflection and awareness

The first and most crucial step in becoming a positive safety professional is self-reflection and awareness. Take some time to reflect on your current attitude towards safety. Are you constantly focusing on the negatives, or do you see the potential for improvement and growth?

Example:

The old me: “Ugh, another safety meeting. This is so tedious.”

The new me: “I’m grateful for the opportunity to make our workplace safer through these meetings.”

Embrace a learning mindset

You need to adopt a learning mindset to shift from negativity to positivity. Safety is an evolving field, and there’s always something new to discover. Embrace every challenge as a chance to learn and grow.

Example:

The old me: “Why do we have to change our safety procedures again?”

The new me: “Let’s see how this change can enhance our safety measures and potentially save lives.”

Communicate effectively

Effective communication is key to fostering a positive culture of safety. Encourage open and honest discussions about safety concerns. Be a good listener, and ensure that everyone feels heard and valued.

Example:

The old me: “These employees never listen to me about safety.”

The new me: “I’ll engage in a dialogue with the employees to understand their perspective and concerns.”

Lead by example

As a safety professional, you are a role model for others. Lead by example in your commitment to safety. Practice what you preach and demonstrate the behaviours you want to see in your colleagues.

Example:

The old me: “Why should I wear my safety gear if no one else does?”

The new me: “I’ll wear my safety gear consistently to set a positive example for my colleagues.”

Celebrate your successes

Celebrate even the smallest safety successes. Positive reinforcement can do wonders for morale and motivation. Acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of your team in making the workplace safer.

Example:

The old me: “We haven’t had an accident in months, but that’s just luck.”

The new me: “Our accident-free streak is a result of our collective commitment to safety. Let’s keep up the good work!”

Continuous Improvement

Lastly, always strive for continuous improvement. Stay updated on the latest safety practices, encourage innovation, and be open to new ideas. Challenge the status quo and never settle for mediocrity.

Example:

The old me: “Our safety procedures are fine; there’s no need to change anything.”

The new me: “Let’s regularly review and update our safety procedures to ensure they are the best they can be.”

Just before you go…

Becoming a proactive safety professional is not an overnight transformation. It’s a journey. One that is rewarding.

Remember, your positive attitude towards safety can inspire and motivate your colleagues, ultimately creating a safer and more enjoyable workplace for everyone.

So, let’s embrace this journey together and make safety management a force for positive change in our organisations!

How to sell safety with the concept of fish

Master how to sell your safety ideas and inspire action

Safety professionals, business leaders and managers, lend me your ears!

Today, I want to share some guidance on how to master the art of influence and persuasion and sell your safety ideas in the workplace.

As safety advocates, our success lies not only in our technical expertise but also in our ability to sell our ideas and convince others to embrace safety initiatives.

Let’s dive in and explore practical strategies that can inspire action and create a safer work environment.

Understand your audience:

You must understand your audience’s perspectives, needs, and motivations to influence and persuade effectively. Put yourself in their shoes, empathise with their concerns, and tailor your approach accordingly.

Sell what’s in it for them.

Example: If you’re presenting a safety initiative to the operations team, focus on how it will increase efficiency, reduce downtime, and enhance productivity, as these are their primary concerns.

Build relationships:

Establishing strong relationships based on trust and respect is essential for influencing others. Invest time in building connections with key stakeholders, including supervisors, workers, and management. Show genuine interest in their ideas, concerns, and goals.

Example: Engage in casual conversations, attend team meetings, and actively listen to their experiences. Building rapport strengthens your credibility and makes it easier to sell your ideas.

Communicate with clarity and confidence:

Effective communication is vital when selling your safety ideas. Clearly articulate the benefits, risks, and steps required to implement your safety initiatives. Be confident and passionate about your message.

Example: Use simple, relatable language, avoid jargon, and support your points with real-world examples. Paint a vivid picture of your idea’s positive impact on safety and the organisation’s overall success.

Tell compelling stories:

Stories have a powerful impact on human emotions and can make your ideas more memorable. Craft stories highlighting the consequences of unsafe practices and the positive outcomes that can be achieved through your proposed changes.

Example: Share stories of real incidents that occurred and explain how your safety idea could have prevented them. Also, share success stories of other companies or teams that embraced similar safety initiatives and experienced significant improvements.

Use social proof:

People are more likely to be influenced by the actions of others. Use social proof by highlighting success stories, testimonials, or case studies demonstrating positive outcomes of your safety ideas. This provides evidence that others have embraced similar changes and reaped the benefits.

Example: Share statistics or testimonials from workers who have witnessed the positive impact of implementing safety initiatives. Show how their peers’ support and commitment have improved safety and overall performance.

Appeal to values and emotions:

Connect with the values and emotions of your audience. Frame your safety ideas to resonate with their personal beliefs, aspirations, and sense of responsibility.

Example: Emphasise how your safety initiative aligns with the company’s values of prioritising employee well-being, creating a positive work environment, and being responsible.

Be a catalyst for change

Influence and persuasion are powerful tools for safety professionals to effect positive change in the workplace. By understanding your audience, building relationships, communicating effectively, and appealing to values and emotions, you can inspire action and convince others to embrace your safety ideas.

Remember, your passion for safety is contagious, and through your persuasive efforts, you can create a culture where everyone is committed to prioritising safety. It’s down to you to embrace the art of influence and persuasion and become a catalyst for change, making your workplace safer and more fulfilling for all.

And in the words of Columbo, “Just one more thing”

Before we wrap things up, let’s pause for a moment and reflect on everything we’ve covered. We’ve journeyed through the ups and downs of this topic, exploring its nuances and gaining valuable insights along the way. But now, my friend, it’s time to take action.

I want you to ask yourself: What will you do with your newfound knowledge?

Safety coaching and leadership professional in construction

Inspiring Safety Excellence: Leading by Example – Mark’s Journey

Are you a business owner, manager or supervisor?

An inspiring case study follows how a Safety Manager named Mark successfully transformed his company’s safety performance through coaching, lasting behavioural change, and exemplary leadership.

Mark’s journey is a testament to the power of compassion, dedication, and the ripple effect of positive change in creating safer and healthier workplaces.

We have the challenge:

When Mark took on the role of Safety Manager at a construction company, he observed a significant gap between safety policies and actual safety practices. Incidents occurred, and workers seemed disconnected from safety protocols, leading to many near misses.

So help was on hand with several areas that made an improvement.

It all started with a coaching approach:

Mark already believed that meaningful change begins with understanding the workers’ perspectives and guiding them towards a shared vision of safety excellence.

  1. Listening and Empathy: Mark learned to actively listen to the workforce’s concerns, fears, and suggestions without judgment. He showed genuine empathy, recognizing the value of their input and experiences.
  2. Building Rapport: Mark fostered trust and rapport with the workforce through regular safety meetings, encouraging them to see him as a partner in their safety journey.

Doses of positive reinforcement and recognition:

Understanding the power of positive reinforcement helped Mark introduce several initiatives to recognise and reward safety-conscious behaviours.

  1. Safety Champion Awards: Mark initiated a monthly Safety Champion Award, where individuals or teams were acknowledged and celebrated for outstanding safety contributions. This recognition uplifted the morale and motivated others to strive for excellence.
  2. Safety Success Stories: Mark shared safety success stories from the workforce, highlighting instances where proactive safety measures prevented potential accidents through near-miss reporting. These stories inspired others to follow suit.

Moving forward with leadership development:

Mark firmly believed that leadership goes beyond titles and that everyone could be a safety leader in their own right.

  1. Safety Leadership Training: Mark’s leadership development helped him prepare workshops focusing on effective communication, coaching techniques, and empowering his workforce to take ownership of safety.
  2. Leading by Example: Mark consistently demonstrated his commitment to safety through his actions and decisions. He works closely with front-line workers and supervisors, leading safety initiatives from the front and setting an inspiring example for the entire business.

There were outstanding results:

Mark’s new skills in safety coaching, positive reinforcement techniques, and leadership development helped radically transform the company’s safety culture.

  1. Reduced Incidents: Safety incidents significantly decreased, with near misses being reported and addressed promptly.
  2. Increased Employee Engagement: Workers actively participated in safety initiatives, contributing innovative ideas and becoming safety advocates in their respective teams.
  3. Improved Communication: A culture of open communication and trust flourished, enabling a seamless exchange of safety-related information.
  4. Safety as a Core Value: Safety became ingrained as a core value within the business, transcending mere compliance and becoming an integral part of the company’s identity.

And that was only the beginning:

Mark’s journey as a Safety Manager exemplified the immense impact of coaching, lasting behavioural change, and leadership in creating a safer and more fulfilling work environment.

His dedication to understanding the workforce’s behaviour, recognising their efforts, and nurturing safety leadership at all levels inspired business owners to embrace safety excellence.

Learning from Mark’s journey and remembering that everyone can influence positive change and build a culture of safety that empowers and protects individuals at work. Even you.

Together, we can make a lasting impact and create workplaces where safety is a value and a way of life.

Do you want to learn to be like Mark and help inspire safety excellence?

Get in touch today. I’m ready to help.

leadership coaching

Leadership Coaching: Lets unlock your true potential

Leadership coaching is a process that helps leaders develop their skills and abilities to improve their performance and the performance of their organisation.

The coaching relationship is typically between the leader and a professional coach, who may be an internal or external consultant. It is designed to help the leader identify areas for improvement, set goals, and develop action plans to achieve those goals.

Coaching may focus on specific skills or behaviours, such as communication, delegation, or problem-solving, or it may be more general in nature and address overall leadership development. The coach uses various techniques, such as active listening, questioning, and feedback, to help the leader gain insight and understanding and to support them in taking action.

Coaching can be delivered one-on-one, in groups, or in a team setting, depending on the needs of the organisation and the individuals involved.

Coaching is often used with other leadership development programs, such as training or mentoring.

Leadership coaching can significantly impact an individual leader’s performance and effectiveness. It can also benefit the organisation by improving communication, teamwork, and overall performance.

It’s important to note that leadership coaching is a partnership between the coach and the individual being coached. Successful outcomes often hinge on the rapport and trust between the two parties and the individuals willing to be open and receptive to feedback.

An example of leadership coaching in action

An example of leadership coaching in action is an executive coaching session with a Manager. The coach begins by helping the manager to identify areas where they want to improve as a leader. The manager realizes they struggle with delegating tasks effectively and maintaining good relationships with their team.

The coach works with the Manager to better understand their leadership style and how it impacts their team. Through this process, the manager realises that they have a tendency to micromanage, causing frustration and low morale among their team members.

The coach then helps the manager to develop a new, more effective approach to delegation, including setting clear expectations, providing adequate resources, and empowering team members to take ownership of their work. The coach also works with the manager to improve their communication and interpersonal skills to foster better relationships with their team.

Over time, the manager notices that their delegation skills have improved, and their team is more engaged and productive. The manager also feels more fulfilled and satisfied in their role as a leader.

This is an example of how leadership coaching can help leaders identify areas for improvement, develop new skills, and achieve their goals, leading to better outcomes for themselves and their organisation.

The different types of leadership coaching

Executive Coaching:

This type of coaching is tailored specifically to top-level executives and business leaders to help them improve their leadership skills, navigate organizational challenges, and achieve their professional goals.

Team Coaching:

This approach involves working with a group of leaders or team members to develop their collective leadership skills, improve team dynamics, and achieve common goals.

Transformational Coaching:

This type of coaching helps leaders transform their personal and professional lives by developing self-awareness, identifying limiting beliefs, and setting meaningful goals.

Servant Leadership Coaching:

This approach focuses on helping leaders develop a servant-oriented leadership style, where they prioritize the needs of their team and organization over their own.

Situational Leadership Coaching:

This type of coaching focuses on developing leaders’ skills in adapting their leadership style to different situations, individuals, and teams.

Values-Based Leadership Coaching:

This approach involves exploring and aligning a leader’s values with their leadership style, behaviours, and decisions, to create a more fulfilling and practical leadership experience.

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Safety Coaching and leadership development in construction

How to approach employees not following the safety rules and improve safety culture

Let’s set the scene.

Senior company executives are concerned that their sites aren’t being managed effectively and want to know what can be done to improve safety performance and develop the organisational safety culture.

It’s a busy construction site in the middle of the city centre, and employees are using noisy tools and equipment that creates dust, working from Stepladders, Scaffolding Towers, and the PPE provided to protect their health and welfare is not being worn, and the site rules are not being followed properly – Get the picture? Okay.

My immediate question is, “Why and how are these employees allowed to work in this manner?”

And my next question is, “At what point did the employees decide to work at risk and what were their reasons for this behaviour?”

What works for me

When engaging with the employees, I would approach them, introduce who I was, and ask them to talk me through what they were doing. I would ask about their background (where the employee is from, family, hobbies, etc.).

Next, I would ask about how long they have been working for the company and how long they have been on the site. Then I would ask about their co-workers to get an insight from their point of view.

I would also ask about their supervisor/manager to understand their relationships. And after getting to know them a bit more. I’d ask the employees about “near miss reporting” and what that would mean to them.

Unless there was an imminent danger to an employee… I would not address the PPE issues or the site rules directly with an individual. I would end the conversations there with the entire team.

Onto the management

Next, I would have a private conversation with the site manager/supervisor to understand their knowledge of and relationship with the employees and their knowledge of the company policy, site rules and procedures.

Part of that conversation is to bring to the manager’s/supervisors’ attention the at-risk observations and employees’ concerns, discuss safety coaching techniques that can help improve the organisational safety culture – and provide them with a leadership development opportunity and strategy to engage the employees, correct the issues, and lead.

Finally, followed by a feedback session with the senior executives to discuss the findings and the solutions offered, how these would work in practice, encourage them to get involved and commit to a continuous safety improvement program.

Does that sound interesting to you?

When you’re ready to improve your organisational safety culture with coaching and strategy get in touch using the contact form below.

Contact David

Are you more of a phone person than a form person?

Send a message via text or WhatsApp 07814 203 977

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