Driving a positive

safety culture
Contents
Introduction 03

Communicating the “why” 04

Influence your organisation’s health and safety culture 06

Create a positive safety culture 09

Culture change programmes 12

Empower your people with Notify 14

Driving a positive safety culture

Introduction
The importance of driving a culture of Losing their role, a change in responsibilities
health and safety within an organisation and worries about their ability to adjust to the
new ways of working. They’re all fears that may
cannot be underestimated. But if you come to the surface when you dig a little
need to make some changes in your deeper with your colleagues.
organisation, where do you start?
That’s where the ‘why?’ comes in. When you’ve
established why the culture change needs to
This paper helps you navigate the journey towards happen, it’s vital to communicate this clearly
a positive safety culture where you work. We’ve with your people. Involve them and reaffirm the
included information to help influence your importance of their support in this shift to a
leaders and reaffirm health and safety’s rightful new way of working.
place as a top priority for your company’s most
important assets: its people. And how can you
get your colleagues’ support?

Changing an organisation’s culture is daunting.

Let’s face it, we’re human, and most of us fear
change. It’s a natural instinct. That’s why it’s so
important to engage your people and make
them part of the journey, and the solution.

The Health and Safety Executive

(HSE) defines an organisation’s
safety culture as: “the product of
individual and group values, attitudes,
perceptions, competencies and
patterns of behaviour that determine
the commitment to, and the style and
proficiency of, an organisation’s health
and safety management.”

Driving a positive safety culture 3

Communicating
the “why”
Let’s get back to basics. Why do you
need to change your organisation’s
health and safety culture? Remember,
communicating the ‘why’ is really
important to ensure your people are
on board. It’s useful to break this down
into three key areas: moral, legal and
economic.

Moral Legal
You care about your people. You want to see them In their day-to-day operational roles, your
go home safely every night. Your people are the colleagues may not be aware or overly concerned
most important asset to your business, so it’s about legal obligations, but your leaders certainly
imperative that their wellbeing comes first, above should be. Taking reasonable care of people at
your company’s profitability. All organisations work is not just reflected in common law, but also
should feel morally responsible for their workforce in statute law. So, it’s criminally enforceable. Most
and anybody else affected by the work activity health and safety legislation cases go beyond
they’re undertaking. taking reasonable care. They place duties of
absolute, practicable or reasonably
Over 90% of incidents reported to the Health practicable care.
and Safety Executive (HSE) are due to unsafe
acts. “That would never happen to us” is no When you’re influencing a culture change at
doubt a phrase you’ve heard before if you’ve the top of the organisation and helping your
tried to influence change with your leaders. colleagues connect with their ‘why’, ensure they’re
We’ve spoken to leaders who have had to fully aware of all potential consequences of
attend a colleague’s home or funeral following failing to comply with legislation, approved code
an incident. It’s something they would not wish of practices and accepted standards. This could
on any family or individual. involve criminal prosecution (custodial sentencing/
fines), serving of enforcement notices or fees for
We have an obligation to care about our people. intervention contravention (fines). They can all
An organisation or individual is required to take cause loss to your organisation.
responsible care of the people affected by their
work activities. It’s not the law; it’s the right Consider too that fines are now linked to turnover,
thing to do. following new sentencing guidelines in February
2016. It’s something to remind your leadership
teams. Also, all improvement notices are in the
public domain, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that
most organisations found guilty of corporate
manslaughter don’t survive

Driving a positive safety culture 4

Economic
The moral, legal, and economical reasons for
effectively managing health and safety are
closely linked. If an organisation fails to effectively Need to remind your leadership
manage health and safety, it hits their bottom team of the consequences of
line. They’ll suffer economically, which impacts getting it wrong?
its financial stability.
It’s worth stressing these three points:
From the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)’s 1. Fines are no longer fixed (They’re
recent statistics, 36.8 million working days were now linked to turnover).
lost due to work-related ill-health and non-fatal 2. Reputational damage can be huge.
injuries in 2021/22. That’s a whopping cost of 3. The economic impact is significant.
£18.8 billion!

Driving a positive safety culture 5

Influence your Internal factors
Leadership commitment to health and safety

organisation’s
should be clear, visible and should cascade down
from the most senior level in the organisation.
Leaders must be ‘walking the walk’. It’s not good

health and
enough for this commitment to be just a formal
policy statement; it should be demonstrated in
every activity, every day, across the organisation.

safety culture Your people must be able to see a clear alignment

between what your leaders communicate and
how they behave. This alone will determine the
journey the business will travel to establish that
When you’re building your change positive safety culture. Lead by example!

management strategy to influence your Unrealistic targets drive the wrong behaviour.
organisation’s health and safety culture, A successful organisation has targets that
it’s important to consider both internal are directly connected to their relevant key
and external factors. performance indicators (KPIs). These could be the
company’s profitability targets or department-led
targets, such as production volumes or
timeliness of deliveries.

In most cases, team leaders are being challenged

to deliver more with less. If these goals are no
longer achievable, it could lead to individuals
demonstrating poor safety behaviours, such
as cutting corners to achieve targets. It’s not
uncommon for senior managers to compromise
health and safety to meet production targets,
which often results in a poor safety culture.
How many business leaders know that this
is happening within their organisation?

Driving a positive safety culture 6

Key internal points to consider:

Communicate effectively to your people. Employee representation such as trade unions,

The importance of health and safety needs to be where they exist in organisat ions, can work with
communicated effectively and regularly. Each employers to help identify hazards and implement
person needs to understand the part they play measures to mitigate risks. By advocating safe
in maintaining a safe working environment. Poor working practices, procedures and policies, trade
communication can lead to doubt or uncertainty. unions can help to create a workplace culture
Remember, the gap between what a person where safety is a top priority throughout
thinks, and what they actually know, gets larger the organisation.
if a communication vacuum exists. People usually
feel more confident if the risk controls have been External factors
communicated to confirm their understanding. Legislation and regulations set minimum
A positive health and safety culture thrives on a standards for workplace health and safety, and
well-balanced communication policy. organisations must comply with these standards
to prevent accidents and injuries. However, the
impact of external legislation on safety culture
goes beyond simply complying with legal
requirements.

Competence and training within your Key external points to consider:

organisation, as you have a duty to employ or
contract health and safety assistance to ensure
that competent and current safety advice is
available across all levels of your company.
Regular training and education on health and
safety topics ensures that your people have the External legislation can influence an
required knowledge and skills to stay safe on a organisation’s safety culture by setting
job. If you’re the person delivering the training, ask expectations for acceptable behaviour and by
for regular feedback from your colleagues on the creating a framework for accountability. When
content and approach you’re using. Always adapt organisations are held accountable for their
your approach to ensure your colleagues are compliance with legislation, it encourages them to
engaged and are truly present. take safety more seriously and invest in resources
to improve safety measures. If you comply with
external legislation, it can also help foster a
culture of continuous improvement. Organisations
can then strive to exceed the minimum standards
and improve their safety performance over time.

Driving a positive safety culture 7

Enforcement agencies such as the HSE, local Insurance companies have become increasingly
authority and enforcement agencies can be a aware that they have undervalued the risk related
powerful motivator for organisations to prioritise to some organisations they’re insuring. This
and invest in their safety performance. The risk has caused insurance companies to assess the
of legal action, negative publicity and financial risk of certain organisations’ health and safety
penalties can create a sense of urgency around performance. By demonstrating a commitment
safety issues. Organisations may be encouraged to safety and working collaboratively with
to take proactive steps to prevent accidents and insurance providers to implement comprehensive
injuries. Enforcement agencies can also influence and effective risk management strategies,
an organisation’s safety culture by raising the organisations can potentially lower their insurance
awareness of safety issues and promoting best premiums and save money on insurance costs.
practices. HSE resources provide guidance on a This creates a clear financial incentive to prioritise
range of safety topics, including risk assessments, and invest in safety performance.
workplace hazards and safety management
systems. This can help organisations understand
their legal obligations and take practical steps to
improve compliance and workplace safety.

Shareholders can play a significant role.

Their power and influence can help shape an
organisation’s health and safety culture and
promote accountability. By working with them
Contracts are an ideal way for organisations to engage with your colleagues and utilising
to set standards for the health and safety their advocacy for greater transparency and
performance of their suppliers or contractors. disclosure around safety, you can help to create a
They can outline safety specific requirements culture where issues related to safety are openly
and hold third parties to account for meeting discussed and addressed.
them. Establishing a clear expectation for safety
performance upfront helps to create a culture
where safety is a top priority for all parties.
It promotes safety both within the organisation
and throughout the entire supply chain.

Driving a positive safety culture 8

Create • Blame culture in an organisation that tends
to blame individuals for accidents/incidents.
This creates a culture of fear, mistrust, and a

a positive •
reluctance to report accidents or near misses.
A lack of communication and consultation

safety culture where employees aren’t aware of policies

and the safety expectations set out by
the organisation.
• Minimal or no training on health and safety
If your organisation is going to create topics. This means employees do not have
a positive safety culture, it needs to the necessary skills required to carry out
their roles safely.
understand the signs of a poor safety
culture. A poor health and safety culture
A positive safety culture is a way of doing things
can lead to weaknesses, perhaps due
that’s shared, taught, or copied. Everyone in a
to poor training or communication. particular culture tends to do things in a similar
way, which they consider to be the norm. So, an
organisation’s safety culture consists of its shared
It promotes an atmosphere where non- working practices, its tendency to accept or
compliance with safe working practices is tolerate risk, how it controls hazards and how
acceptable and doesn’t help the organisation it deals with accidents and near misses.
take effective action to address health and
safety problems. Safety culture can also be described as a
combination of how people feel about safety (the
Often, organisations with a poor safety culture safety climate), individual actions, and the policies
have the same underlying attitude to all processes and procedures the organisation has in place. In
and procedures. This can result in poor product accordance with the Institution of Occupational
quality and financial control, as well as poor Safety and Health (IOSH), a positive safety culture
health and safety. A poor health and safety has three key elements:
culture can be identified by:
• Working practices and rules to effectively
• A lack of safety leadership/commitment control hazards.
from the top down, with no safety ownership
or responsibility for health and safety at • A positive attitude towards risk management
board level. and compliance with control processes.

• A board of directors that are more concerned • The capacity to learn from accidents, near
with profit over safety. misses and safety performance indicators
and promote continuous improvement.
• Poor incident/accident reporting:
– Accidents in your workplace happen but The challenge for any organisation is how to foster
aren’t reported. and maintain a positive health and safety culture.
– There’s no formal procedure for accident/ It’s hard to change the attitudes and beliefs of
incident investigation to prevent them colleagues by direct persuasion. But by acting
from happening again in the future. safely and leading by example, people will start
to think “safety first”. It’s important to involve your
people in safety processes to give them that
same sense of ownership.

Driving a positive safety culture 9

8 steps to create a positive safety culture

1
Lead by example: Your leaders and managers should demonstrate their
commitment to safety by following safe work practices, using personal protective
equipment, and addressing any safety concerns promptly.

2 Hold your leaders accountable: They must be held accountable to ensure a

safe working environment and proactively promote safe behaviours.

3
Provide safety training: All your people need regular training on safe work practices,
hazard identification, and risk assessments. This helps them understand the
importance of safety and how to identify and address potential hazards.

4
Get your people onboard: Involve them in the development and
implementation of safety policies and procedures. This helps ensure
that policies and procedures are practical and effective.

5
Encouraging reporting: Employees should report any safety concerns,
incidents, or near-misses. This helps identify potential hazards and allows
for corrective action to be taken before an incident occurs.

6 Investigate incidents: Identify the root cause and ensure the findings
are reported back to the reporter and employees.

7 Acknowledge safe behaviour: Recognise and reward employees for safe behaviour, such
as following safe work practices, reporting hazards, and participating in safety training.

8
Continuously monitor and improve: Use key performance indicators—such as the
number of incidents reported, the number of safety observations and lost time
injuries—to inform the efficacy of your safety strategy, performance and culture.
Also consider qualitative information from safety culture surveys to make any
improvements. Ensure any outcomes are communicated across your organisation.

Driving a positive safety culture 10

An organisation can develop standard safe
working practices that comply with the law
and best practice. It can also create a positive
attitude to compliance by making sure that board
members and senior managers lead from the
front. For these two elements to work effectively,

36.8 million
the organisation needs to learn from what’s
happening in the workplace. Good information
is essential for a positive safety culture. For the
information to flow, the workforce needs to be Working days lost due to
willing to participate and be prepared to report work-related illness and
their mistakes, near misses and accidents. Only workplace injury (HSE)
through awareness of, and analysing accidents
and near misses, is it possible to develop suitable
improvements to safe working practices and
create a positive health and safety culture.

Driving
Driving a
a Positive
positive Safety
safety Culture
culture 11
Culture Level 5
Continually

change improving

programmes Develop consistency and

fight complacently

Level 4
Health and safety culture change is not Co-operating
something that happens quickly. Plans
to improve an existing culture should
Engage all staff to develop
take into account that culture evolves co-operation and commitment
over a long period of time. A culture to improving safety

change programme is also very unlikely

to succeed unless senior managers Level 3
and board members are committed Involving
to leading the change.
Realise the importance of
front-line staff and develop
Health and safety culture change is not personal responsibility
something that happens quickly. Plans to improve
an existing culture should take into account
that culture evolves over a long period of time.
A culture change programme is also very unlikely Level 2
to succeed unless senior managers and board Managing
members are committed to leading the change.

Develop management
If you try to change a culture too quickly, you may commitment
generate resistance. It’s true that the direction of
a culture often comes from senior managers. But
it’s important not to overlook influential people Level 1
and employees with positive safety traits within Emerging
your organisation. These can be key people
to engage with to help foster a positive safety
culture. You might even be able to persuade
them to become safety champions.

Culture change programmes which succeed at Improving Increasing

one location can fail at another. The factors that safety consistency and
increase or decrease the chance of success can culture reinforcement of
be identified and linked to the existing culture of desired behaviour
the organisation.

Driving a positive safety culture 12

Organisations should:

• Find out what their managers and people

actually believe about health and safety, and
make it clear what’s expected of them in terms
of health and safety values, beliefs, attitudes
and practices.
• Consider the most appropriate interventions to
address any differences between expectations
and reality in the organisation’s health and
safety culture.

Organisations need to find the right balance

between decree, prescription, organisational
learning and joint goal setting, and acknowledge
the time that it’s likely to take to achieve
measurable and permanent change in
the health and safety culture.

Driving a positive safety culture 13

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notifytechnology.com References

SHP Website

IOSH Website

Driving a positive safety culture The Construction (Design and Management)

Regulations 2015 (HSE)