Culture shock: Getting a change in organizational culture to focus on safety can be forceful

The bravest people didn't give the same attention to safety as they did the dangerous work for which they'd signed up -the same work for which they'd developed intense skills. But preventable accidents laid more of them low than exposure to the risks inherent in firefighting. Safety isn't glamorous. It isn't dramatic. But getting a change in organizational culture to focus on safety can be forceful in terms of having the people you count on staying well and ready, as well as cutting costs and improving insurance ratings. Just sending out a memo or dictum on safety has little effect on changing behavior. The organization's internal culture may not support it. Fire Engineering University's Ronald Siranicki and Richard Gist suggested that we might review the famous behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinners' work on teaching pigeons to bowl if we wanted a better handle on the subject. Everyone laughed about teaching pigeons to bowl - and it wasn't easy because each step in the process had to be broken down into single tasks. It wasn't the "norm" by any means. It took patience, consistency and channeling normal behavior in totally new directions. The couple of following paragraphs bring out related points about organizational culture with a chuckle: "If culture is an amalgamation of values, beliefs, and behaviors that become engrained in people, communities, and organizations, how do these things arise, how are they transmitted from one generation to the next, and—most importantly—how can we change the parts that work against us? To get to that point, we must first understand how it is that people come to do the things they do. The most tenacious aspects of culture are those driven by conformity. They are seen in behaviors and beliefs that are often described as norms. Norms are so fundamental that we don't think about them; we don't know how or when we learned them because they seem to have always been a part of our world and our movement within it. Since social norms are so deeply engrained, they're typically quite difficult to change. For example, the odds are that nobody ever told you exactly how to behave in an elevator. There aren't written rules about it. Still, you know exactly what to do—walk in; turn to face the door; look up, down, or forward. If you know someone, you will probably say hello, but any conversation that follows is usually kept to short, quiet, low-key exchanges. Let's now try an experiment: Step into the elevator and wait for the doors to close. This time, though, don't turn around. Instead, stand facing the crowd and ask how everyone is doing. Tell them a little bit about yourself; maybe share a few things about your views on current events and politics. You could even follow up with a brief display of talent such as singing, dancing, or telling a few jokes. Security will be waiting for you somewhere before you get to the top floor." When Doyle Security Services Inc. (DSS) started the internal initiative to have Safety Plus and overall safety training become part of our officers' ongoing programs, some people rolled their eyes. However, in much the same way that Siranicki and Gist focused on changing the culture of safety in the fire service, we've enhanced our programs to take a general concept and bring it into specific tasks. We work with our teams on processes and accountability that make a difference. Quickly, the DSS Safety Plus program means each employee receives awareness training in Safety Plus prior to being assigned on the front line. It includes: * Classroom instruction. * VCR demonstrations. * Written guidelines. * On-site training and safety orientation. Our employees are taught and prompted to follow safe and proper procedures to avoid accidents and personal injury. We study the location and atmosphere of each client's facility because these factors are diverse and pose a variety of potential safety issues. Findings inform our basic Safety Plus design for each facility, incorporating input from our clients so the programs meet necessary standards. Each job site is assigned a safety coach who meets regularly with his/her employees to: * Promote safety and hygiene awareness. * Provide coordination and direction of all loss prevention activities. * Maintain DSS and client safety and health policies. * Conduct ongoing evaluation of the program. * Ensure legal compliance with regulations in addition to any updates in client guidelines. We invite your questions and comments about safety initiatives and are available to consult with you on taking the shock out of improving safety in specific environments. Mario Doyle, CPP, is chief operating officer at Doyle Security Services, Inc., Valley Stream, N.Y.