STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE
N THEIR EFFORTS TO REDUCE THE FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES, a growing number of public sector risk managers are recognizing the value of collaborating with safety professionals within their organizations. By working together, the two disciplines can drive better outcomes, accelerate improvements in accident reduction and worker safety, facilitate the development and implementation of a safety culture and elevate worker morale, performance and job satisfaction. Although these benefits align with the overall objectives of both disciplines, arriving at true teamwork may require breaking through longstanding barriers that have separated the two functions, including different reporting structures, data requirements, and time horizons for achieving objectives, as well as the lack of internal structure to facilitate collaboration. Risk managers can lead efforts to overcome these barriers and drive success across their organizations. Here are five best practices for kick-starting or enhancing collaboration with your safety department.
RECOGNIZE THAT EFFECTIVE SAFETY INITIATIVES START AT THE TOP. Given the demands of their day-to-day responsibilities, risk management and safety departments might not have the bandwidth to collaborate or the structure to facilitate the sharing of information and responsibilities. However, a mandate from the top can change that and motivate operational departments across the organization to contribute to a culture of safety.
“Safety has to come from the top down,” said Britney Gallagher, workers’ compensation manager for the Port of Seattle. “If leaders throughout the organization are not committed to creating a safe work environment, it limits our ability to incentivize change and take on safety initiatives.” Getting buy-in from the top isn’t necessarily, easy, though. Gallagher said while the port’s CEO—who hails from the manufacturing industry—is focused on safety by his own accord, not all organizations are that lucky, and some leaders might need to be convinced. She said executives, directors and departmental managers need to be shown the significant achievements that can be made when you fully integrate safety, workers’ compensation, risk management, human resources, legal and labor. “Safety should be driven by a desire to keep your customers and employees safe, but without
16
PUBLIC RISK | FEBRUARY 2017
a doubt, safety can be dollar-driven, too,” Gallagher said. “It absolutely has an impact on the bottom line...and that fact often gets leadership listening more closely.”
FORMALIZE SAFETY PROCESSES TO FOSTER COLLABORATION.
While initiating an organization-wide safety culture must start at the top, formal processes are also needed to ensure that otherwise disparate departments collaborate, take action and are held accountable. However, putting formal processes in place can be a challenge, too. At the Port of Seattle, even though the risk and safety departments are inherently collaborative, they still struggled to overcome procedural barriers that were inhibiting information sharing and follow-through. “Our directors have a long history of working together. We come from a place of collaboration,” Gallagher said. “But without a proper structure to share and respond to information about safety hazards or incidents, our collaborative nature still wasn’t driving optimal performance.” Gallagher said the port’s web-based risk management information system (RMIS) has been a force in bringing the two groups together. Both the safety and risk departments use a singular system that opens the lines of communication between the groups; automates processes; and triggers next
steps so everyone is apprised of any hazards or incidents, and their related responsibilities.
DON’T OVERLOOK THE NEED TO MEET FREQUENTLY.
While technology can bring groups together, it can’t replace the importance of regular meetings. Be sure risk management and safety departments have a framework to meet on a scheduled basis to review trends and become actively engaged with organizational changes that have implications for safety and risk management. Gallagher said the safety and risk management teams at the Port of Seattle meet quarterly to discuss what’s on both sides of the house. The two teams also collaborate on numerous activities where responsibilities overlap, including claims, risk and safety training, labor negotiations, data integration with internal and external partners, employee benefits, disability management, Family Care Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. They also have a formal structure in place to team up on certain investigations like motor vehicle accidents, equipment incidents, facility maintenance issues, or new facility construction projects. She said the formalized meeting and collaborative investigation structure protects against the teams getting stuck in silos as they try to accomplish their day-to-day work that is often independent of one another.