It is a culture where accidents and injuries are prevented, and where employees feel supported to work in a healthy and safe environment. 

Management plays a critical role in creating and maintaining a positive health and safety culture. By implementing effective strategies, managers can help to ensure that their employees are safe and healthy at work. 

Management strategies for creating a positive health and safety culture at work 

Demonstrate leadership and commitment 

Employees need to see that their managers are committed to health and safety. This means leading by example and following all policies and procedures. It also means being visible and accessible to employees and being willing to listen to and address their concerns. 

Communicate effectively 

Open and effective communication is essential for a positive health and safety culture. Managers should communicate with employees about health and safety on a regular basis. This could involve holding safety meetings, sending out safety bulletins, or simply having informal conversations with employees. 

Provide training and education 

Employees need to be properly trained on health and safety procedures to work safely. This training should be tailored to the specific needs of the job, and should be provided to all employees, including new hires, contractors, and temporary workers. 

Encourage employee participation 

Employees should be encouraged to participate in health and safety activities. This could involve forming a health and safety committee, conducting regular safety inspections, or simply allowing employees to report hazards and concerns without fear of reprisal. 

Reward and recognise safe behaviour 

When employees follow safe practices, it is important to recognise and reward them. This could involve giving verbal praise, written recognition, or even small rewards, such as gift cards or certificates, in line with your organisation’s policy. 

Investigate and learn from incidents 

When incidents do occur, it is important to investigate them thoroughly and learn from them. This will help to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. 

Additional tips for managers 

• Create a safe and healthy work environment. This includes providing employees with the necessary equipment and resources to do their jobs safely. It also means maintaining a clean and well-organised workplace. 
• Be proactive. Don’t wait until an accident happens to act on health and safety. Conversely, it is important to identify and address hazards proactively. 
• Create a culture of no blame. Employees should feel comfortable reporting hazards and concerns without fear of being blamed or punished. 

• Be patient and persistent. Creating a positive health and safety culture takes time and effort. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t experience results immediately. 

Examples of how managers can implement the strategies above 

• Leadership and commitment: Managers can demonstrate leadership and commitment to health and safety by holding regular safety meetings, conducting safety inspections, and personally addressing employee concerns. They can also show their commitment by following all safety policies and procedures themselves. 
• Communication: Managers can communicate effectively about health and safety by sending out regular safety bulletins, posting safety information in common areas, and having informal conversations with employees about safety. They can also create a safety newsletter or blog to share information about health and safety best practices. 
• Training and education: Managers can provide training and education on health and safety by offering in-house training programs, sending employees to external training courses, or providing employees with access to online training resources. 

• Employee participation: Managers can encourage employee participation in health and safety by forming a health and safety committee, conducting regular safety inspections, and allowing employees to report hazards and concerns without fear of reprisal. They can also involve employees in developing and implementing new health and safety policies and procedures. 
• Reward and recognition: Managers can reward and recognise safe behaviour by giving verbal praise, written recognition, or even small rewards, such as gift cards or certificates. They can also create a safety recognition program to recognise employees who go above and beyond to keep the workplace safe. 
• Investigate and learn from incidents: When incidents do occur, managers should investigate them thoroughly to determine the root cause and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. They should also share the findings of the investigation with employees so that they can learn from the incident. 

By implementing the strategies above, managers can help to create a positive health and safety culture where all employees are safe and healthy at work. 

The iProtectU health and safety software provides: 

• An inspection and Audit App which allows for safety inspection of the workplace and associated report 
• eLearning on a wide range of EHS topics 
• Scheduling functionality for managers to send eLearning, risk assessments and documents out to all staff via the software with tracks completion and compliance 
• Risk assessment templates covering a range of work activities, events and equipment 
• Management system to document control the policy on safety behaviour at work 

• Method Statement module for the creation of working instructions 
• Legal register that provides legislation guidance on working safely 
• Incident investigation module that tracks incidents both with an app and via desktop 
• Hazard observation app where staff can report and record any concerns regarding health and safety /workplace safety culture to the organisation 
• Asset management App ensuring assets are recorded in the software