Leadership communications

Communication in HS&E Leadership
Successful Health, Safety, and Environmental (HS&E) leadership depends largely on the leader’s ability to engage the workforce in activities that result in positive change. Relationships between leaders and employees that include positive exchanges and communication can lead to increased job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. In fact, some researchers propose that better communications and therefore better quality relationships between the leaders and employees result in employees being more likely to feel free to raise safety concerns and engage in safety practices. Increased communications also result in employees having a better understanding of safety issues such as safe operating procedures and guidelines, outcomes of unsafe behavior, safety equipment handling, and emergency procedures. In at least one study, researchers make the theoretical assumption that “management’s ability to communicate positive values and expectations is critical to ensuring that workers will make their decisions with safety as a proper priority”. There are many effective ways to engage the workforce, but almost all of them depend largely on two way communication between the workers and the leader. This article discusses the importance of communication in HS&E improvement and some informal communications methods that can be used in daily practice.

Building Leadership Credibility
Before discussing specific communications techniques it is important to establish that the effectiveness of communication by a leader in an organization is affected by the leader’s credibility. The following factors affect the credibility of leaders: the track record of the individual delivering the message, the content of the message itself, reputation for integrity and trustworthiness of the communicator, and the consistency between words and deeds. Although these attributes are self explanatory, it is important to note that all need to be present for the communication process to be successful, especially when trying to communicate the need for change in the organization.

Establishing Vision and Purpose
Once it is clear that credibility is established, the formal vision and purpose of and for the HS&E efforts and initiatives needs to be communicated to the employees. This should be done in a compelling and passionate manner, emphasizing the importance of the initiative to the employees. In some cases, personal experiences can be used to help correlate the importance of these efforts to actual life experiences and situations. This technique, if used, relies heavily on the credibility of the communicator and must be carefully applied. In the book, Leading Out Loud, Terry Pearce describes the following requirements for relating to personal experiences: •	Be sure the experience is clearly relevant to the point you are making •	The experience must be related from memory – don’t use a script •	Be sure the experience is full of sensory rich detail to communicate your passion •	Always use the first person – using “they” or “you” changes the story into opinion instead of experiences

Communications Practices
There are many types of informal communication practices that can be used in daily practice, one of which is frequent informal and spontaneous conversations. These types of communications are critical to perpetuating the message because they keep the message alive and in front of the employees. Seize every opportunity possible to convey your message to employees: discussions of initiatives over coffee, informal phone conversations, and e-mail messages are all opportunities to engage employees in HS&E related processes. Take the time to listen and others will listen to you.

If employees are to remain interested in HS&E improvement, they must be made aware of the progress of the changes and the effectiveness of the HS&E efforts. As change progresses and improvements continue, employees should be asked for feedback. Opportunities to celebrate reaching mile stones should be seized whenever appropriate.

And remember, “what ever form your messages take, the key element is your Self….” (Pearce, 2003). Leaders provide the inspiration for change, and only through active participation and communication can this inspiration be transmitted to the workforce. Continued HSE process improvements will reap great dividends through reduction and elimination of work related incidents.

Additional Material

 * http://www.asse.org/professionalsafety/docs/WE-Executive%20Safety%20Leadership%20STR.pdf (Executive Safety Leadership, Dan Petersen and Kyle Dotson)