FAQs – Safety Culture and Inspections

Leadership and commitment are foundations for the employer’s health and safety program. It demonstrates the employer’s commitment towards health and safety. Start by establishing clear policies around how the company is expected to function safely. Policies are both your promises to your employees as well as your expectations of performance from them. Once established make sure you communicate the policies to your employees so they know the rules and then comes the hard part. You have to follow the policies yourself.

Common mistakes for management leadership and commitment include having unwritten rules, not following the policies you have written, failing to communicate expectations of performance, and not holding employees accountable for their actions. Your company’s health and safety program will perform much better if policies are clearly communicated and employees take responsibility for ensuring their safety.

Employers should establish clear written policies that only include things that you plan to do. Be certain to sign and date the policy when created. Make sure they are available for review by all employees. Review them annually to see if they are still appropriate. When reviewed make sure you update the signature and date. And always be sure to follow them yourself since this is the mark of a leader.