The position of safety manager must rely on effective communications with all aspects of the organization. You must be able to receive and send messages to others that maintain trust and keeps the process you want to develop continuously improving.

People Skills

Do an assessment of your people skills. Are you approachable? What is your communication style? Do you prefer direct on-on-one discussion; feel comfortable in front of groups, in front of management? Do you prefer to use e-mails and rely on memos? How does your style and type of communication match your organization, manager and those to whom you must communicate?

Communication Skills

The development of a safety process cannot be done entirely from your office. You will have to walk and talk, meet people, develop a rapport with virtually ever part of the organization. You will have to keep the trust of those who may fear to bring issues to light and cause them problems. You will be balancing between various groups, causes, and the complexity found in any organization.

Walk and Listen

You should be visiting or establishing contact with as many of the other disciplines as possible within the organization - Maintenance, Quality Control, Risk Management, Security, Environmental, Training, Human Resources, Fleet, Custodial, etc.  Their issues are also your issues and give indicators of the current organizational culture.

Listen intently

Follow Steven Covey’s principle of “Seeking first to understand then to be understood”. What are their issues, concerns, observations - you are in support of these personnel and need them as allies.  Listen and learn before jumping to conclusions and reacting.

If you do not review your skills and can not gain rapport, you may have serious long term problems that are basically your fault and damage the position you hold.

Day 4 Summary

Begin the process of learning the various departments, their needs, concerns and issues.

Nathan Crutchfield

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