Helping workers and employers to do their bit for safety

Promotion of workforce involvement has been a key area for HSE since research showed that high levels of employee consultation in the management of health and safety risks were linked to a reduced number of incidents. The research linked higher levels of employee consultation with reduced instances of stress and musculoskeletal complaints, and found that people who feel valued and involved in decisionmaking play a big part in a high-performing workplace.

Giving your workforce the right skills and involving them in making decisions empowers them to contribute - to raise concerns and offer solutions. It shows them that you take their health, safety and well-being seriously.

Worryingly, however, workers surveyed separately perceived that consultation had weakened. This presented a challenge to businesses to improve their health and safety consultation arrangements - and was the reason for the launch in March 2010 of the Safe and Sound at work - “do your bit” initiative.

The initiative targeted areas across Britain where levels of worker engagement were known to be low, and comprised subsidised training, which took two forms.

The first was accredited by IOSH and combined training on rights, roles and responsibilities with the development of “soft skills”, like effective communication and negotiation; how to participate in health and safety meetings and build rapport with colleagues and managers. It helped participants identify realistic steps for improvement in their workplace. 2,400 new representatives of employee safety (RoES) took part from 400 small to medium non-unionised workplaces in high risk sectors (construction, manufacturing and workplace transport).

The second course comprised workshops for representatives and managers together, allowing both parties to come together in a facilitated environment to explore improved ways of co-operating to help manage risk. 118 organisations from unionised and nonunionised workplaces across a variety of sectors took part.

Participating organisations were helped to diagnose barriers to good communication around management of key risks, and to identify common ground where there was the potential to reach agreement. As a result, we identified many common barriers and enablers to good consultation.

The initiatives have evaluated well so far, with positive
unsolicited testimonials and early evaluation showing that:
• 73% of delegates developed a realistic action plan
• the course helped 88% with new ideas to help manage risk
• 81% reported increased confidence in influencing others
• the people skills content was well received - cited as the best
element
Course delegates also reported other improvements including improved procedures, increased awareness, better communication, an increase in the profile of health and safety, and an understanding of common barriers to improvement, such as cost, resources, suitability of PPE, shift working and effective communication channels.

The majority of delegates agreed that the initiatives helped to
identify or implement health and safety improvements,
established a more collaborative approach, and developed a
realistic plan of action to help sustain improvement post
intervention.

These initiatives have been a success, and we are looking at how we can continue to deliver similar interventions alongside industry. But improving workforce involvement will take much more. A cultural shift is required - an acceptance that those creating risks are best placed to manage them, and strong leadership to assure the fundamental involvement of the workforce in health and safety.

Paul Cook
Lead Policy Adviser
HSE Workforce and Leadership Team

Find out more about successfully involving your workers by visiting the “do your bit” website at: www.hse.gov.uk/doyourbit/