Every day, safety conversations take place between executives and managers, between safety professionals and workers, and—most importantly—between front-line supervisors and the workers who report to them. These conversations have great potential for improving workplace safety and health.

The core elements of an effective safety and health program —management leadership, worker participation, and a proactive approach to finding and fixing hazards—depend on good communication skills, real listening, clear speech, and well-run meetings.

This is where effective safety conversations come in— and where your role as a supervisor is key. The example you set, and the way you talk to workers about safety, has a huge impact on the company’s safety and health program, safety culture, and ability to reduce injury and illness.

Safety Conversations: The Basics

Many books and training programs are available to help people improve vital conversation skills. Following are just a few:

• Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
• Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time
• Silent Danger: The Five Crucial Conversations that Drive Workplace Safety

A“crucial conversation,” from the book of the same name, is defined as a conversation where opinions vary, the stakes are high, and emotions run strong. These qualities describe many safety conversations:

• The stakes are high. People could be injured, have their lives altered, or even die.
• People have strong views about whether or not a hazard exists, and whether it needs to be addressed. Even if they agree to address the issue, they may disagree about what needs to be done. Something as basic as the selection of safety glasses can become contentious.
• Emotions can run high. People care deeply about their well-being, and their emotions naturally come into play. You want people to care about safety and you do not want their emotions to become so strong that it slows progress.

To make these conversations successful, you need to make sure workers feel safe expressing their views and know that you care about their welfare. If workers feel threatened, they are unlikely to fully participate in the discussion, learning will be stifled, and change is less likely. Remind workers they will not get in trouble for talking to you, and that your policy allows them to raise safety and health concerns without fear of reprisal; where applicable, suggest they can have a labor representative present. When conversations heat up, try to be calm, rational, and open-minded.

Avoid insults, personal attacks, direct criticism, and threatening gestures. State your intentions clearly: that you are trying to help them avoid injury and illness, and the devastating consequences of an injury to them, their co-workers, their future, and their family. Repeat as often as needed.

“I’d like to talk to you about something important. Let’s review the safest way to do this task, so you and your team are not at risk of getting hurt.”

“I respect your experience and want to make sure nobody is injured, so I’d like to work with you to address this issue.“

“Can we talk about what I’m seeing and figure out a better way to do it?”

Expect to have several informal types of safety conversations as you work to engage the workforce and implement your safety and health program. These include the walk-around conversation, the “elevator speech,” and the feedback safety conversation. Formal conversations will also occur in scheduled meetings on the topic, but be prepared to discuss safety topics during the following informal conversations.

This conversation occurs when an executive, mid-level manager, or safety professional is walking through the facility or jobsite with workers. It could be a regular safety inspection, an executive walk-around to display safety management leadership, or a non-safety walk- around where safety issues arise. The key to successful conversations in this setting is establishing two-way dialogue, and, above all, good listening. Ask the workers an open-ended question, and then really listen to what they tell you.

Your questions could be:

“What is your biggest safety concern with this task?”

“What can we do to make this task safer?”

“If you could address one safety concern—say, by buying equipment, changing a work process, or changing a work rule—what would it be?”

Then ask clarifying questions and engage the worker.

“Do you have any ideas that would help us do it better?”

“Have you seen an incident caused by the issue?”

“Has anybody been hurt, or narrowly avoided getting hurt?”

“Would you be willing to help by being on a task force to look at the issue?”

This conversation usually happens when somebody asks you why you care about safety, and you should offer your perspective whenever the opportunity arises. It is important that you have an immediate, concise answer. Just as an elevator ride will last only a minute or two, this speech should be short and to the point. Explain why you care about safety, share your experience, give some statistics, or tell a personal story. Here is a sample speech.

There are three reasons why I care about safety in our workplace:

“Last year we had five injuries. Those didn’t have to happen. When I see the injury reports, my heart goes out to the workers and their families, and I want to do what I can to see it doesn’t happen to somebody else.”

“I looked up the injury statistics and found that thousands of workers are injured in our industry. I think our industry should be a leader in protecting its workers, and I want us to do our part.”

“The importance of safety really hit home for me when one of my uncles was seriously injured on the job. I saw for myself the suffering he went through and the impact it had on our family. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to our workers and their families.”

Giving feedback is one of the most common safety conversations. Constructive feedback is needed to improve safety. Feedback that comes in the form of criticism can make people defensive. Managers often avoid giving feedback in order to avoid confrontations.

In Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen suggest giving just one of three different types of feedback at a time: appreciation, coaching, or constructive feedback. You will likely be more successful if you give only one type of feedback in a single session; giving different types can confuse the person you are giving feedback to and dilute your message.

Appreciation, or positive feedback, is an important feedback tool. Research indicates that negative feedback is two to four times more powerful than positive feedback (but in a negative way). If you want to promote a positive environment, limit negative feedback and give twice as much positive feedback. Praise with enthusiasm, criticize lightly. When giving appreciation, thank the person for doing something positive for safety. For example:

“I really appreciate the way you brought up the safety issue without getting people upset.”

“Thanks for pointing out that safety issue. Your actions could keep somebody from getting hurt.”

“Thanks for repairing the equipment quickly. It shows all of us that safety is important.”

Coaching is another helpful form of feedback, especially when the person is motivated, cares about safety, and is willing to work on your safety and health program. It is a positive form of feedback that can take two forms: performance coaching and leadership coaching.

• Performance coaching is much like coaching sports skills. You model the activity; observe the person you are coaching; and give feedback on what was right, what was wrong, and what could be improved. Then repeat until the person gets it right.
• Leadership coaching asks open-ended questions and lets workers find their own solutions to problems. Some questions you might ask include:

“How do you think we should address this safety issue?”

“What kind of hazard controls would help us avoid this problem in the future?”

“Personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided to protect you from specific hazards. What else is important to you when selecting PPE?”

When coaching, you may also want to help the person brainstorm alternatives and stay on topic. The more difficult the question, the easier it is to veer off into other subjects. Use questions to ensure safety issues are addressed:

“How can we improve this task?”

“Will you work with me to create an action plan to make sure this doesn’t fall through the cracks?”

“Will you make a commitment to work with me on this issue?”

Constructive feedback should be used when performance is not meeting expectations, and you have specific feedback to correct the situation. The goal is to improve and make a given situation better. To achieve this goal, the feedback session and the feedback giver need to approach it in a positive way that will motivate the feedback receiver. Avoid judgmental statements and personal criticisms. Focus on the behavior, not on the person or his or her values or personality. Remember that the feedback receiver has the option to accept or reject your feedback.

Several methods for providing feedback can help you improve these conversations. One method uses the “COIN” method, described in The Feedback Imperative. Another method that combines some elements of constructive feedback and coaching is the “Ask-Tell-Ask” method.

No matter what feedback type or method you use, you will need to follow up and see if the strategies are working and behaviors have changed. Frequently update workers on the status of their safety suggestions and/or reports of hazards they have submitted. Inform them as soon as their concerns have been addressed, or explain if their suggestions cannot be implemented. A common reason workers do not report safety hazards is because they never get a response.

Storytelling can be a useful skill in any conversation or speaking opportunity. Telling a short, compelling story describing a real event is a persuasive way to reinforce your safety program. The story should be short, just a few sentences delivered in 15 to 20 seconds.

“I knew a worker who was injured doing that on the job. After a few surgeries and three months of recovery, he managed to come back to work. Unfortunately, he was never the same. The trauma of the event impacted his confidence and he just couldn’t do things he did before.”

“Last year we had three workers who injured their backs—one of them so badly that they are permanently disabled and will never be able to work again.”

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 20 people died in trench collapses last year. I don’t want to see that happen to our workers.”

Collect stories, and know about incidents that have occurred in your workplace, your company, and your industry. Do your research about injuries, illnesses, and fatalities that have occurred to workers in your industry or do the same work that you do. Follow the news so you can use a current event in your area. Stories that are fresh and close to you have more power. Use the webpages for OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect statistics and stories about workplace incidents. Talk to your insurance carrier, which might have good stories you can use.

Leadership by example is the strongest way to encourage workers to engage in your safety and health program, to work safely, and use PPE.

Walk the talk by using the right PPE, following safe work procedures, and promoting the safety and health program; this helps set an example and further your safety goals.

The way you communicate also sets an example. Raising sensitive safety issues with skill, respect, and a caring attitude shows other workers how to do the same. Make sure that you accept constructive feedback well, ask for feedback often, and handle negative feedback with grace.

You can improve your safety and health program by improving your safety conversations. Experiment with different approaches, build a library of safety phrases and stories, and have these conversations without fear. By doing so, you can contribute to preventing injuries and saving lives