The One Thing a Safety Professional must practice daily.

As Safety Professionals, we are constantly striving to find the perfect balance between caring for the people within our workforce and delivering results from our initiatives and measures. It can sometimes feel like a tightrope walk - but with the right frame of mind it’s possible to make sure everyone is taken care of without compromising on our end goals. 

At the core of this delicate balance lies the need for trust and communication. Of course, prioritizing safety first allows us to make sure that no one gets hurt or put in any kind of unnecessarily dangerous situation. Analysing every potential risk and taking preventative measures will always be number one on the agenda. However, ensuring that everyone affected truly understands what's at stake and why it matters is just as important to make any safety management system work. In other words, the means is just as important as the message. This is effective communication at work. 

In order for safety to become established as our main priority, it’s important to focus on the very people we are trying so hard to protect. Our team, our colleagues and anyone else who might be affected by the decisions we make need to receive the same level of attention and care as any policy or program that is developed. It's essential that we take into account their feelings, opinions and expertise when making any kind of decision. Their buy in is crucial for the adoption and sustainability of every safety related plan or change. This is the power of building trust. 

In terms of measuring results – knowing when to push forward and when to slow down is key here. Making sure that deadlines are met without compromising our integrity or jeopardizing our safety culture is a difficult but necessary task. This is a lesson that requires daily practice for anyone who has realized the tests that undoubtedly come our way. Safety Professionals, our field may involve many metrics, but it’s up to us to keep this important balance in check – no matter how hard the challenge or how heavily we are pressed to show the fruits of our labor. The process always matters more than the product, but the people always matter more than the process.