Communication is a Key Component of Safety Success

Dear Valued Reader:

I apologize for the delay in this posting. Demand for our work has been tremendous and thus time has not allowed for insightful articles since our previous post. (Speaking of which, if you have not yet requested your free copy of the article on Supervisors' Role in Safety, please do so right away.) Regardless, it is real-world experiences, together with our systematic research of Behavior-Based Safety Principles, that allow us to share the knowledge that we do. So please stay tuned and check back regularly as I will document the experiences of myself and my clients as I am able and as they are applicable to helping you improve your safety efforts.

Recently, I was in Florida during the landfall of hurricane Wilma. I must say, that although there has been a lot of bad press regarding preparedness for hurricanes, I felt entirely safe in the hotel in which I "holed up." To the credit of the hotel staff, they were outstanding not in only in the plan they had, but also in the COMMUNICATION of that plan. Specifically, prior to the arrival of Wilma, a memo was placed in my room with all relevant instructions to stay safe and secure. This was followed by a phone call to be sure I had received and read the memo and an offer to answer additional questions. Throughout the storm they provided updates on all that had been communicated earlier and finally allowed us to know when the storm had passed and it was safe to leave our room. Moreover, during the storm they provided free in room movies to keep hotel guests entertained. This functioned as a positive reinforcer for staying the room, the safest place for us unless evacuation to a common area was necessary.

Granted, Florida has had a lot of practice in the past couple of years preparing for and dealing with hurricanes. However, this does not undermine the quality of the work done by the hotel staff and the IMPLEMENTATION of their plan. I was in safe and knowledgeable hands and thus it was easy to follow instructions. And, because of their effective communication the instructions were clear. In short, I trusted their intentions and their abilities. In my eyes, this type of trust is the definition of authority derived from respect. Thus, it should not surprise you that NIOSH research in which I was involved indicated that TRUST is the biggest predictor of a successful safety process!

The lessons for our industry-based safety processes are the following. We must learn from our experiences. And, we must communicate those experiences effectively. Effective communication is the key to successful implementation of any safety process and the creation of new more rewarding safety experiences. Multiple methods of communication will enhance the strength of any message. (In the case of my experience with this hotel they communicated both in written word and spoken word). Moreover, if we communicate with respect our message will be even stronger. Respect requires that people trust both our abilities and intention to use those abilities for a need beyond themselves. And, finally, we must make safe behavior worth while (reinforce it) because it often competes with other behaviors that may provide more positive, immediate, and certain consequences (see our previous posting on positive reinforcement). The reinforcement component in the current example is illustrated by the in room entertainment provided by the hotel to keep guests in their rooms (difficult for people who are often in resort communities to take advantage of what the area has to offer).

In my opinion, the key difference between my experience with this hotel and those who are less satisfied with how the hurricane situation is/was handled boils down to communication. Like others, I was inconvenienced by the storm, but I did not feel inconvenienced because of the experience created for me by the hotel staff. My situation was no different than the one in which employees feel inconvenienced by safety rules because of high production demands. Thus, you too can overcome this obstacle if you can effectively create new more rewarding safety experiences for those employees who seem inconvenienced by safety. Given the power of communication in doing this, I will be posting a future article on effective communication. So, please check back often.

To close, I'd like to thank the hotel and hotel staff for keeping me safe during hurricane Wilma. I would recommend their service to anyone who is interested in being treated with dignity and respect. Best wishes and safe days. Sincerely, TED BOYCE