As important as it is for a workplace or an organization to have a strong safety culture for their employees, all the efforts would go to waste if the workforce of the organization is not motivated on a personal level to follow safety measures at workplaces.

The question that arises now is, how can a company make sure that the workers take full accountability and responsibility to ensure safety both in terms of themselves individually and in terms of their fellow colleagues?

Here are some tips suggested to increase the overall accountability of the employees of an organization.

Establish Safety As A Part Of The Overall Accountability

Experts suggest that it is possible for some of the employees to have received mixed messages as to safety via an employer. If a company wishes to improve accountability in terms of safety, first and foremost it should establish safety as a strong pillar of the company culture and educate its workforce on the expectations in terms of the same.

Safety expectations from the workforce should be the same as from any other function of the company, be it production, quality, or attendance. It should be a part of the factors that run a company, and not anything separate.

Make Sure You Take Regular Employee Feedback

Many times, the safety guidelines implemented by a company are written by experts that are distanced from where the actual functions take place. Such an approach may turn out to be less effective in terms of security since these individuals do not have a deep understanding as to the safety requirements of the company’s employees on the frontline organizational operations as they have never experienced it.

However, suppose a company chooses to get its own employees to express their thoughts as to what is safe and what actually needs some adjustments and improvements. In that case, it will not only ensure a safer working environment, but it will make the workforce feel empowered as they will feel like they have a voice and this can help in the long term to improve accountability.

Include Safety in Your Evaluations

If you make safety a part of your employee evaluations, your workers will be encouraged and will be careful about their share of safety that needs to be maintained. If a company assesses this factor regularly, employees will pay more attention to it as they know that it will show up in their performance review.

The Management Should Be Aware Of What An Unsafe Workplace Can Cost

The main motivation for the top management should be having a safe environment for the company’s workforce. However, to ensure that the management is promoting safe practices, they should be reminded of the benefits a safe work environment provides. For instance, large savings.

So, it is time to show your company’s management the amount of savings that a safe work environment can bring.

Empower Those On The Lower End Of The Hierarchy

Regardless of what the level of an employee is, the company must ensure that he/she is following proper safety guidelines that are set. Even if a member of the senior management enters an area without the safety protection (for example proper gear), the workers must be in a position to tell him/her to adhere to the safety requirements before entering. A company must encourage its workers to ensure  proper safety guidelines are followed, even if it is for senior management. This helps them in maintaining safety, being accountable, and feeling empowered.

It is vital to make your organization’s work environment extremely safe for the workforce, but at the same time, they must also be responsible and add to this safety.