Leveraging Communication
Recalibrating how safety managers can effect change in their organizations.
- By David Kopf
- Aug 01, 2023
It’s said that communication is a fine art, but sometimes it also feels like a dying art. With all the communications tools and platforms at our disposal, we often find ourselves talking past each other, not actively listening and not developing the kind of understanding that results from effective communication. From a safety management perspective, that represents a challenge given that ensuring workforces understand safety guidelines, procedures and protocols hinges on effective communication.
That’s why I was glad to see a running theme on communication’s role in safety management at the recent American Society of Safety Professionals’ (ASSP) Safety 2023 Conference and Expo, which was held June 5-7 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Effective communication was definitely on many of those experts’ minds. Kicking off the show, Safety 2023’s keynote speaker Jimmy Yeary, a Grammy-winning musician and songwriter, emphasized to attendees the importance of making meaningful connections through sharing stories about themselves. Yeary noted that the simple formula behind his approach is that the ability to tell an authentic, relatable story results in the ability to make connections. He made a point that’s worth relating: “If I feel something, then you feel it. And if I feel it and you feel it, we connect and we form a friendship. And friends help friends.” That’s a great tool for effective communication when you’re encountering pushback.
Safety 2023’s plenary session, “How We Can Lead Workplace Safety and Health in New Ways,” featured three experts, Andrea Baker, the founder of The HOP Mentor; Ron Gantt, CSP, CIT, ARM, the Director, Health, Safety and Environment for the Americas at Yondr LLC; and Helen Harris, MEng, CSP, the Health and Safety Center of Excellence Leader at WestRock, who frequently discussed the role communication plays in safety leadership. Throughout what was a really healthy, hour-long discussion, the three experts, moderated by ASSP Senior Vice President Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP, talked about the need to change up the nature of the dialog between safety managers and workers by focusing on listening more in order to more effectively communicate and implement policy.
Communication has been an underpinning element of how ASSP operates as of late. At the show, I met with outgoing ASSP President Christine Sullivan, CSP, ARM, who concluded her term as we go to press, and a key initiative during her term as President was an ASSP governance change that incorporates more effective communications with members. ASSP changed from having a house of delegates to an advisory committee, which she said has increased representation for the association’s members. I’m sure giving more voice to the membership is indicative of how important the “communication trend” really is.
This article originally appeared in the August 1, 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
About the Author
David Kopf is the publisher and executive editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine.