How Safety Buy-In Leads to Greater Engagement and Success

Every organization operates at greater efficiency when everyone is working safely. Accidents, illness and injury can cause productivity to grind to a halt, resulting in missed days, hospital stays and stalled projects. As a safety manager, your job is to get everyone on the same page with a strong safety program to keep things running smoothly. 

Sometimes that can be easier said than done. Companies of any size can be slow to change, but one way to improve safety engagement is to get buy-in for your safety program and culture. When everyone is invested in safety, you’ll see fewer accidents, less hazards on the job, stronger morale, and even a greater return on investment. 

The bottom line – safety buy-in matters, from the C-suite to the front line. Read on to learn about safety buy-in, why it matters, and how to get everyone at your company motivated. 

What is Safety Buy-In? 

Safety Buy-In refers to an organization’s employees’ willingness to participate in a safety program. From data collection to incident prevention, keeping a job site safe requires meaningful input from everyone on the project — not just a safety manager. Employees need to be truly invested and care mutually about everyone’s safety, not just their own. To get the most out of a safety program, all members of an organization need to participate in safer practices instead of providing lip service.  

So what do you need to experience total buy-in? According to EHS Daily Advisor, you need cooperation from all levels of an organization. Leadership needs to care enough to invest heavily into a safety program. They’re also responsible for setting an example for all employees. Frontline workers also need to understand and cooperate with a safety program, and naturally go out of their way to maintain safety while on the job. 

Why Does Buy-In Matter? 

The level of buy-in you see from your organization affects your business in countless ways. It’s more than just every employee making it home safely at night, though. Buy-in ultimately results in a stronger safety culture and financial benefits across the organization. Here are just a few ways a strong commitment to safety can benefit an organization. 

• Improved Engagement: When employees care more about safety at a foundational level, they don’t just go through the motions — they work together to keep each other safe. This results in safer practices and better data, if frontline workers are tasked with submitting observation forms while on the job. 

• More Accurate Analytics: Strong data goes hand in hand with stronger safety engagement. More participation ensures you’re catching more leading and lagging indicators, which in turn results in higher-quality data analytics. A good analytics program is also a key part of getting continued buy-in — when people see your safety program is reducing accidents and improving ROI, they’ll likely be more interested in supporting it. 

• Stronger ROI: Speaking of — a safety program may look expensive up front, but investing in an organization’s safety pays for itself over time. Studies show for every $1 spent on safety, an organization will see $4-6 in savings down the line. Contributions to these savings include less downtime because of injuries, fewer workers’ compensation payouts, and fewer audits and regulatory fines. 

• Stronger Employee Investment: When employees feel safe, they are more willing to work hard collectively. They know their employers care about their well-being, so they’re more likely to stick around. This means organizations can spend less time trying to fill vacancies on the front line, and more time getting things done. 

• A good reputation: Word of mouth travels fast, and safe organizations tend to have stronger reputations. Accidents happen on job sites every day, and thanks to smartphones these incidents can become public knowledge. If your organization puts in the effort to prevent accidents from happening, potential hires and OSHA inspectors will see a sterling example of safety — not an out-of-control danger zone. 

To benefit from a strong safety culture, you need to get buy-in from all levels of your organization, starting at the top. 

How to get Safety Buy-In from Leadership 

If your company’s leaders don’t see the value of a safety program, it may be challenging to get your safety culture off the ground. Leaders need to set an example from the top; if they show frontline workers they don’t care about their safety, those employees likely won’t either. 

On the bright side, safety managers have a few tools and options to show leadership why safety truly matters. Here are just a few to get you started. 

• Communicate Value: Leaders likely care about seeing the impact of any program that costs money. A CEO’s job is to steer the company in a profitable direction, and understanding how safety impacts the organization is key. Knowing how to communicate your proposals in a clear, concise way will be the key to getting buy-in at a high level. Take advantage of the 5-second visual design rule — your presentations and pitches should be able to express important details and value within 5 seconds.  

• Use Data and Case Studies: Accidents and injuries can significantly impact the bottom line — according to the National Safety Council, work injuries in 2022 totaled $167 billion (about $510 per person in the US). The average worker’s compensation claim in 202-2021 was over $41,000. Reporting similar statistics can be a great place to start with expressing the value of safety — while not free, investing in a safety program can help drive down costs related to accidents and injuries, resulting in improved efficiency, cost savings and profits.  

• Find a Champion: Sometimes getting buy-in starts with one person. If the company leadership doesn’t consider your requests, start with your direct report. Due to the experience and reputation associated, job titles can leverage more respect within an organization. For example, if you’re a safety manager who reports to a VP position, work to get their buy-in first. Sometimes getting that extra influence can help turn the tide in your favor.  

Once you’ve locked in company leadership, you’ll have the weight behind you to properly engage and train frontline workers. 

How to get Buy-In from the Front Line 

Trying to get a safety program to operate effectively without cooperation from the frontline is kind of like driving a car without tires – you’re probably not going to get very far, and you’re going to have a bad time along the way. Locking in a strong safety culture from the ground up results in fewer accidents, more efficient operations and stronger morale. Do you like feeling stressed out, in danger, or frustrated with knot head coworkers? Odds are nobody else does either. 

Here are a few tips for making the most of your efforts in getting front line crews onboard with safety culture. 

• Encourage cooperation: Safety managers aren’t the only people responsible for maintaining safe practices – to make a difference, all employees must care about each other’s safety as much as their own. Encourage front line workers to wear proper PPE, follow safe procedures and take time to call out issues when they see it. When everyone feels involved, they’re more likely to invest in the safety program themselves. 

• Provide proper training: Workers can’t maintain safety if they don’t know what to look for. Hold regular training courses for new and veteran employees to make sure everyone’s up to date with state, federal and organization guidelines. If you aren’t sure where to start, OSHA provides information on required training and certification every employee should have. 

• Adapt to learning styles: Not everyone learns the same way and building a strong safety culture requires full understanding to be successful. Talk with your crew to figure out which learning styles work best for them. Tailor your meetings and training around their preferences – some may thrive off reading or hearing new information, while others might need hands–on practice. Taking time to teach others helps them feel invested and makes sure they understand what’s expected of them. 

• Lead by example: Safety isn’t just effective when practiced from the bottom up – safety managers should set an example for employees by practicing what they preach. Get in the habit early and be mindful of your actions, regularly report hazards, and be willing to provide actionable feedback for others when they make mistakes. The front line will take notice, leading to more employees working safely. 

• Show Impact: Much like a c-suite executive, all workers deserve to see how their efforts are making a difference. Set aside time during safety meetings to discuss what’s going well. Call out employees who do a great job, show leading indicators, and show everyone how they’re overcoming hazards and other opportunities for improvement. Communicating these metrics at the right time and place can keep workers motivated and encouraged that they’re making a difference. 

Safety Buy-In Challenges

Whether you’re asking for buy-in from the front line or back office, you’ll likely face a few challenges along the way. Some can be more difficult to work through than others – here are four common threats to a strong safety culture and widespread buy-in at any company. 

• Safety Cop mentality: Sometimes lack of engagement can lead to frustration. In these moments, it’s important to never snap at workers who make mistakes. Employees who feel policed likely won’t feel the desire to fully engage with safety, leading to less proactive action and lower morale. Don’t just boss people around – calmly discuss why certain aspects of your safety program matter, and coach employees on how to work safer. 

• Apathy: When members of an organization haven’t fully bought into safety, you’ll see a lot of halfhearted attempts of going through the motions, which won’t cut it. While accidents might not be widespread, apathy can turn into carelessness. All it takes is for someone to decide they don’t need to wear PPE or approach a hazard safely for accidents to happen. Make sure to communicate the importance of working safely, as we’ve laid out in this article. Showing workers why working safer will matter more than just telling them, helping to reinforce a healthy safety culture. 

• Resource Management: Even if you have all the right data and have the C-suite on board, your organization might just not have enough budget to go around. This could negatively affect your safety program, but there are still low-cost ways to improve safety. Conducting regular job hazard analyses can help catch unsafe conditions and acts. Regularly inspecting PPE, tools and machinery can give you an idea of how to prioritize repairs or replacements to keep things running smoothly. 

• Safety Myths: Some people believe that accidents are unavoidable, and this can negatively affect how they approach on-site safety. If you hear this myth (or similar ones) make sure to stop and correct it. According to EHS Today, most hazards can be mitigated to prevent accidents. Simply wearing PPE and calling out dangerous acts or conditions when you see them can make a huge difference on the job site. 

If achieving total safety buy-in seems impossible, stop and take a breath. While it may take a while to properly train employees and get leadership on board, investing in safety will be worth it in the long run. 

Build a Stronger Safety Program with Safety Mojo 

Want to level up your safety program and get the tools you need to improve engagement and reduce risk on projects? Safety Mojo’s AI-powered features have everything you need to run the safety program of your dreams. The best part? You don’t need to change your program at all. Our team is ready to tailor the Safety Mojo platform to your needs. 

Here are a few tools that can make a major difference on daily safety management. 

• Conversational Forms: Fill out digital forms and reports 80% faster. Mojo listens to your voice and fills out forms in English or Spanish. Instead of spending time filling out paperwork, you can be out in the field gathering actionable data faster than ever before. 

• PTPs, JSAs and Safety Meetings: Quickly fill out digital Pre-Task Plans, JSAs or Safety Meetings and send them directly to workers’ devices. Crew members can review the documents and sign digitally. You can even create regulation-compliant training and certifications that become part of an employee’s permanent record. 

• Goals and Controls: Everyone appreciates a little positive motivation. Set simple goals for workers to help encourage stronger safety engagement. The user will receive daily notifications straight to their phone to keep them on track. 

• Dashboards: Sick of building spreadsheets? Safety Mojo Dashboards will aggregate your submitted forms in real time and sort the data into charts, graphs and other helpful custom visualizations. These can be vital in finding safety trends, recognizing hazards, and reporting your program’s successes. 

Want to see how Safety Mojo’s easy-to-use tools can help you achieve a stronger safety culture? Learn more about our core safety management tools today.