In the latest part of his SHP blog series, Tim Marsh describes a simple ‘Safety Differently’ case study…
Flouncing about with cameras in our brand-new PPE at a flood defence site, we approached a group of eight workers who, understandably, wondered what on earth we were up to. (Or, at least, were thinking something that broadly meant that!). We explained about the film we were making and asked would they consent to helping us out with some ‘establishing’ shots. (To add colour to the voice over). So, I got to talk about the European Championship football with them – which made the conversation look animated at least!
We then ran a genuine toolbox talk about the topic of the film (the vital importance of good quality health and safety conversations). As ever, one or two at the front had lots of interesting things to say about the way the job had been organised. Specifically, how they had to drive for four hours a day to do a job that wasn’t their speciality. This, they found especially frustrating as a local job ‘right up our street’ had gone to a contractor. (Presumably because it was cheaper… well the headline figures at least).
Regardless of the overall pounds and pence figures, once soft costs included, morale was clearly low. Indeed, one of the team was at the end of their notice period as they’d resigned some weeks earlier. It was obvious that these guys were a really tight knit group and his mates clearly didn’t want him to go but (more than) understood. He really didn’t want to go either, but as the youngest by some distance found his social life severely compromised by an alarm set for 5am every day.
So, I stepped back and the visiting management and the team had a fascinating chat about the realities of working for the company. 101 really sensible suggestions were made, noted and sincere ‘we’ll look into that and get back to you next week at the latest’ promises made. Then I joined in by challenging one chap with: ‘hey, the experienced looking one at the back there with the wry smile on his face. What do you think about all this? Anything you can add to what your mates have said?’ His, I thought both priceless and illustrative response:
How much film you got in that bloody camera…”.
As the Safety Differently movement puts it, the workers are seldom the cause of any problems but very often they have the solutions…
Click here for more from Tim’s blog series…
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Therein lies the gap between them and us, couldn’t organise a p’up in a brewery….all MBA with a pencil and piece of paper and no clue, suffered that years ago in the RAF when they started having direct entrants from University and they couldn’t make a brew for the lad’s way back then, and still probably taking their washing home at weekends for Mum, maybe now in the 21st Century still living at home ? Don’t be so arrogant and ignorant that you are to scared to like, you know, Tim get out and actually talk to your hooman resources.
Well that’s certainly passionately and directly put Nigel!
Too much pussy footing around the lack of genuine meaningful and purposeful interpersonal communications in the 21st Century of Digital texting of short missives and/or e-mail instructions, so easily misconstrued, witness the street fights between girls on our sink estates due to misunderstanding of context of texts and social media cryptic comments – hahah
An interesting piece about information, how two parties don’t communicate with each other, on the one side the employee sees being sent 4 hours to do a job he’s not familiar with, when a contractor does a job closer to his home he is. The employer has not told him why.
Employee Issues 1 asked to do a Job that they didn’t specialise in, 2 travel time to work, 3 fatigue, 4 someone else doing the workcheaper.
Employer Issues 1 getting men skilled at alternative work, 2 Provision of vehicles 3 shorter working day 4 less skilled work of short duration.
Sometimes just explaining to employees why a manager thinks and organises the way he does can make a happier workforce. I.E.
1 Explaining that this is an opportunity to get upskilled,to be able to do more jobs, making the company more effective and efficient, that this task is not available closer to home at present, as we haven’t been able to offer this service locally until we can upskill more people.
2/3 Provision of vehicle for work travel and shortening the working day so you can minimise extra travelling time onto the work day.
4 Using contractors to do low skill, short duration works, where the company can use these works to bolster company profitability to be able to make the permanent staff available for highly skilled work or training to upskill, increase profitability.
The analogy of this story appears simplistic and may not always what it seems, Employers need to make long term plans for their workforce, training and upskilling where they want to move into new or similar workbank. They need to communicate.
Instead of instructing staff to do things, managers need to learn to listen, but listening to just respond is not listening, if you listen to learn, then you are half way to communicating. Telling staff, you’re going here, you’re going there that’s just giving instructions. Getting staff to have confidence that their managers do what they do for good reason, they are considering their lives, experience, skills, their health, safety and continued employment, when they make decisions. Where Employees have things to say or suggest they are going to have a platform with which
speak without fear, this builds trust, now we are communicating.
Communicating in my humble opinion will almost always lead to good behaviours, of both parties, these behaviours become normalised, when there is an issue in the future people can talk about things, even when they are difficult things to talk about. Without feeling the need to get up and leave.
I have experinced all sides of these issues, but when people talk, there is nothing that can’t be solved, with dialogue.
Thank you for such a thoughtful response Gary.