5 Reasons Why Communication Matters to Your Workforce’s Safety

The best-laid plans are more likely to go astray because of poor communication, and workforce safety is no exception.

Insufficient communication may also wind up causing a dangerous workplace environment, marked by a higher rate of accidents and illnesses. Poor communication can also impede the development of a strong culture around safety and health.

Safety communication must be given as much focus as actual safety plans, and with this in mind, below are five reasons why communication matters when it comes to the safety of your workforce.

1. It Makes Objectives Clear

Particular objectives ought to be defined to be able to boost the likelihood of them being achieved. With a clear focus on specific goals, it will be much easier to work towards solving specific issues, as opposed to a general desire to be as safe as possible. For instance, a specific objective could be lowering the number of slips, trips, and falls by 25 percent over the course of six months.

2. It Establishes Specific Responsibilities

Regardless of how clear the goal is, if no one is deliberately attempting to reach it, then it is less likely to be achieved. Through good communication, safety tasks and duties can be allotted to individuals, so everyone knows who is doing what.

3. More Buy-in

Getting staff members on board ahead of time, as opposed to simply issuing orders out of nowhere, will lead to greater buy-in from them, greatly raising the odds of stated objectives being reached. By detailing the risks and how various steps can mitigate them, employees will be more likely to see what management is trying to achieve with respect to safety.

4. Better Safety Culture

Staff members understand and grow to be part of a company’s safety culture. Poor communication may lead to staff members getting conflicting messages, forcing them to interpret various aspects of the official safety plan. This situation can cause staff members to dismiss or have a cynical view of safety measures.

This kind of toxic culture around safety is quite dangerous and can lead to more illness and accidents.

5. Better Collaboration

Two-way communication between managers and workers is vital for safe operations and company-wide learning around safety issues. A worker’s ability to contribute to organizational safety can strongly impact his or her desire to speak up about potential issues. Some frequent barriers to this kind of upward conversation include anxiety around retaliation, worries that the conversation will change as it rises up the organization, the sense that management is against receiving feedback, and fear of interpersonal turmoil. These interpersonal barriers, if unattended to, may have a negative effect on the vital exchange of information, which has knock-on effects for tribal learning and safety.

We Can Be Your Company’s Partner in Safety

At Career Concepts, we work hand-in-glove with our clients to ensure a safe working environment. Please reach out to us today to find to how we can help your company achieve all of its organizational goals.