Maintaining Safety Culture Virtually

As the shift to remote work becomes more and more permanent, we need to consider how we can maintain a culture of safety by virtual means. As a safety professional who is accustomed to being on-site interacting with team members, it was a difficult transition for me when the pandemic hit. Moving from 5 days a week, face-to-face with the frontline workers, to 90% remote work and primarily interacting through emails and phone calls, I felt that I was not effective at my job.

The virtual interactions felt disconnected, both for me and to the people I worked with. Yes, it is nice to be able to work from home on occasion, but I have always been a strong believer in the benefits of in-person safety. Making yourself present and available helps drive the safety culture. It shows the workers that you are invested in their health and safety and are there to experience things first hand.

So, how can we maintain this same mentality when virtual is the current norm? It is not easy. First, we need to make ourselves available, and communicate this to the front line staff. They need to feel like you are easy to reach and are not too busy to discuss site issues. Reinforce with the members that they can call you with any issues, big or small, and that you are ready and willing to find a solution with them.

Second, you need to reach out to them often. As with any relationship, personal or professional, both sides need to work together and communicate. This is not necessarily daily but have scheduled weekly meetings, phone check-ins through the week, and even a site visit here and there (while practising physical distancing and face coverings or course). This will communicate to the workers that you are engaged in their safety and gives them opportunities to voice concerns or open up a dialog to address hazards.

Lastly, find common talking points with the workers on topics outside of work. This could be talking about sports, family, or personal interests/hobbies. By creating these personal connections to the workers, we are able to strengthen our professional relationship with them and it can help them internalize the safety mentality more strongly.

While this is not an exhaustive list of ways to maintain engagement virtually, they are some of the tried and true methods that I have used to promote safety in the workplace and how I make myself a more effective safety professional.