In Part 1 of our article on Workplace Culture, we explored a key contributor to a positive workplace culture, that being worker engagement. We also discussed that whilst the drivers for this vary from individual to individual, a commonality exists between a worker’s level of engagement and how strongly their personal values aligned with those of the organisation, and how valued they felt their work is by the organisation. Workers who don’t feel valued or whose personal values don’t align with that of their employer are less likely to care about contributing to its success, which, in greater numbers, leads to a poor workplace culture where short-cuts are taken, absenteeism increases, individuals put themselves first and unsafe behaviours are accepted.
So how can organisations foster worker engagement, particularly in relation to health and safety, and move towards a positive workplace culture?
- Understand Your Workforce
How do you know or measure how engaged your workers are? The short answer is – you ask them! The longer answer is you could conduct a survey of your workers, asking them what is important to them, why they come to work, how they would rate the workplace culture, and if they feel valued at work. Culture surveys are best done anonymously where individuals feel they can provide honest responses without fear of identification or retribution.
Armed with their employees’ responses, an organisation can then dissect and identify common themes, areas of positive performance and opportunities for improvement. Importantly, these results must be shared with workers, so everybody is clear where the organisation sits culturally. From here, specific action plans can be developed aimed at addressing areas of concern and desired improvement. Finally, the conducting of a culture survey is something that should be repeated, usually at two or three year intervals, to determine if the results (that is, the culture) are improving or not.
- Consultation
Whilst there are legal duties on employers to consult with workers on matters affecting health and safety, consultation is also a positive mechanism for engaging with workers. It has been long proven that workers who contribute to how tasks are performed (and performed safely), feel respected, valued and are more likely to own and follow the process; and, are more engaged at work.
- Leadership and the Importance of Managers and Supervisors
Typically, the Manager or Supervisor of a team sets the tone for the accepted behaviours of the team. Whether it be allowing short-cuts to occur or not, enforcing safety rules or not, or prioritising production over safety versus putting safety first, the role of the Manager or Supervisor is critical in determining team and workplace culture. In essence, they are the organisation to their team. Theirs is the role through which the organisation’s standards, policies and procedures are applied and enforced…….or not.
To this end, the Manager and Supervisor role is a leadership role. It is therefore crucial that individuals in these roles have not just the technical knowledge of the work tasks being performed, but also the “soft” skills that form the basis of good leadership. These include how to have difficult conversations with workers about their behaviours, having the courage to stop work where needed, role-modelling expected behaviours and prioritising health and safety over production.
Senior and more experienced team members can also play a positive role. Demonstrating those same soft skills, they can also be leaders in the workplace whom junior and less experienced workers look up to and respect, and can play a key role in shaping and influencing the team and workplace culture. A positive workplace culture cannot rely on just having good Managers and Supervisors, it must also have good leaders.
- Reward and Recognition
If you asked, most people would say that a token bonus or reward is nice, but it doesn’t drive them to work harder, act safer or become more engaged at work. But they would say a simple thank you or some other form of recognition from the boss is a very welcome appreciation and contributor to a positive culture. This recognition says to the worker (and others) that their work efforts and contributions are valued by the organisation. And as we stated in the introduction, there is a link between a worker’s engagement level and how valued they feel their work is by the organisation. Having a program within your organisation that recognises positive and safe worker behaviours is one of the foundations to a more positive workplace culture. Rewards are good. Recognition is better.
Quantifying workplace culture is challenging but not impossible. There are clear links that worker consultation, participation, engagement, values and recognition, and the influence of effective leadership from Supervisors and experienced team members, contributes significantly to the setting of standards and a positive workplace culture. One where people feel valued, and where their attitudes, beliefs and contributions are embraced; and ultimately, one where people want to come to work each day.
Please contact QRMC for information or assistance.
