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January 2020

By Brie DeLisi In many organizations safety and operational excellence are two separate functions, any overlap is deemed coincidental. However, these two functions are incredibly interrelated when it comes to the actual practice and the related values. At the most foundational level, lean processes and safety culture both rely on the same thing: the employees. The goal of lean manufacturing and operational excellence is simultaneously to minimize waste without sacrificing productivity. This benefits employee safety in a number of ways: 1. The employee is essential to production. You need employees, and not only does an injury impact the employee and their family, it also

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By Brie DeLisi Most organizations believe that having ‘safety’ as a company value and conducting annual safety training is sufficient to drive the message that safety matters. At Propulo, we’ve heard time and time again that “it goes without saying” and “employees know that safety matters” when we ask about a lack of safety conversations. However, the human brain doesn’t quite work like that – the brain prefers to prioritize what is considered important. Imagine the following scenario: As an employee of Widgets and Co, you received new employee training on safety (delivered by the safety professional) and heard from HR that safety

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By Martin Royal It's been well established change initiatives have high rates of failures. It is well documented that the costs of poorly managed change initiatives measure in the millions. Therefore, understanding the reactions of employees to planned organizational change is a significant concern for many organizations. Many organizations are confronted with swift environmental, industrial and technological changes that challenge them to continuously adapt their processes. Effective organizational changes rely on the cooperation and engagement of employees. Poorly managed changes may lead to a variety of unwanted outcomes. These may include decreased workplace satisfaction rates, reduction in both individual and overall

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By Kelly Hamilton, Madison Hanscom, & Josh Williams, Ph.D. A critical skill all leaders must develop is the ability to provide high-quality feedback to their team members so they can perform their jobs well and grow and advance in their careers. When leaders do this well, it can fuel employee motivation and commitment, as well as positive safety outcomes. Fostering growth contributes to an overall sense of organizational and supervisor support, which is important because employees want to feel they are valued by the organization. Employees who report feeling valued by their employer are 93% more likely to report they are motivated

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By Kelly Hamilton, Madison Hanscom, & Josh Williams One of the most important jobs of any leader is to build and live the vision for employees. Building and living the vision means painting a picture for employees of desired performance and living and managing organizational values in everyday interactions. Providing employees with a sense of the organization’s vision and mission should inspire them to align their goals with those of the organization. Research indicates that when leaders encourage employees to strive for something beyond their individual goals, this has a positive impact on safety climate, safety compliance, and safety participation. Leaders who

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By Kelly Hamilton, Madison Hanscom, & Josh Williams A key responsibility of leaders is creating an environment where people can do their best work. To do this well, leaders must be able to drive thinking and speaking—in other words, to foster a climate in which people feel they can speak up without fear of negative consequences, known as psychological safety. Leaders drive thinking and speaking by creating an environment of psychological safety, getting employee input for safety solutions, encouraging system thinking, and reinforcing teamwork and collaboration. Leaders who effectively create this environment increase employee engagement and decrease the likelihood of serious

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