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A Three-Tiered Approach to Securing Buy-In for Safety Initiatives

Written by Kevin Rindal, D.C. on . Posted in Safety Management.

Despite widespread recognition of the importance of worker safety, gaining consistent buy-in for safety initiatives remains a significant challenge for many safety and operational leaders.

Even with the best intentions and efforts, safety programs too often become temporary “flavors of the month” or are reduced to routine check-the-box activities. As a result, these initiatives frequently fall short of their intended impact.

Over the last decade, my team and I have been fortunate enough to partner with dozens of utilities to successfully implement and sustain soft-tissue injury prevention programs. As we began to identify the common factors shared by our most successful customers, several key themes emerged. This article is intended to share those themes, with the goal of helping other safety and operational leaders gain true, consistent buy-in for safety initiatives across three key levels of their organizations: senior leadership, frontline management and frontline employees.

The Role of Senior Leadership
Securing the visible, active commitment of senior leadership is essential for driving safety initiatives that have a lasting impact. When leadership prioritizes safety, the rest of the organization is likely to follow suit.

Among our most successful customers, we’ve seen that senior leaders who go beyond approving budgets and signing off on policies truly set the stage for long-term success. These leaders are consistent, vocal advocates for safety. Through their active engagement (e.g., attending safety meetings, participating in training, discussing safety initiatives in regular briefings), they reinforce to the entire organization that safety is not just a formality or even a priority – it’s a core value embedded in how the organization operates.

When senior leaders model the safety behavior they expect from others, they emit a signal of authenticity that begins to create greater trust among frontline management and frontline employees. Actively participating in safety initiatives not only encourages others to do the same, but it also enables leaders to identify opportunities for improvement and suggest appropriate adjustments.

Tactics to Achieve Senior Leadership Buy-In
One of the most effective ways utility safety and operations managers can secure senior leadership commitment to their initiatives is to clearly outline the costs associated with safety issues and provide the projected return on investment of the proposed initiatives. By quantifying problems – whether through the cost of injuries, lost productivity, a decline in retention or a combination of these factors – senior leaders can gain a clear understanding of financial and operational impacts to the business. This helps to build a compelling case for action.

Further, our data suggests that regularly providing senior leaders with various ways to support a safety initiative greatly increases the likelihood of their engagement. Offer concrete, actionable steps they can take, such as attending a safety event, participating in a workshop, or recognizing individuals and teams for their safety achievements. These are excellent opportunities for senior leaders to demonstrate support, stay involved and reinforce their commitment to safety.

Weekly or monthly updates on a safety initiative’s progress – including both data-driven insights like injury reductions and cost savings as well as anecdotal evidence of cultural shifts – also help keep safety top of mind for senior leadership. Consistent communication often results in strengthening leaders’ commitment to safety initiatives and helps to ensure safety remains a focus throughout the organization.

Empower Frontline Management
Frontline managers are key to bringing safety initiatives to life in day-to-day operations. In fact, according to our data, employees consistently cite their direct manager’s level of support for an initiative as the top factor in determining their own level of participation.

Given that information, it’s no surprise that safety initiatives are much more likely to thrive when frontline managers allocate time, talent and treasure to promote them. This includes making safety a regular part of daily meetings, educating teams about – and encouraging them to take advantage of – available safety resources, and conducting consistent check-ins with workers to solicit feedback. We’ve observed that when frontline management actively prioritizes safety and integrates it into their teams’ daily work, safety becomes an operational necessity.

Tactics to Achieve Frontline Management Buy-In
It’s essential for safety and operational leaders to demonstrate to frontline managers how safety initiatives benefit both their team members and their operational efficiency. Quantify and highlight how improved safety reduces downtime, boosts productivity and minimizes disruptions caused by incidents; this can help managers better understand the direct impact of safety initiatives on their daily work.

Leaders should define frontline managers’ roles in supporting safety initiatives and ensure they have the right tools and resources to successfully execute those roles. Organizations may also want to consider developing a system of accountability for outcomes, which typically drives even greater frontline management engagement in safety initiatives, according to our data. Include safety criteria in key performance indicators and performance reviews; doing so will help to determine if initiatives are being actively promoted.

Both senior leadership and frontline management are more likely to stay committed to an initiative when they’re provided proof of the impact of their efforts. Safety and operational leaders will want to share regular updates with these groups about reductions in injuries, employee feedback and decreased days-away-from-work numbers. This helps keep safety top of mind and encourages continued investment in related initiatives.

Inspire Frontline Employee Ownership
Frontline employees must actively participate in a safety initiative for it to truly succeed. Through their participation, employees gain greater insight into how safety directly benefits them, shifting it from solely being an organizational requirement to something that also enhances their well-being. Among our most successful customers, we’ve found that those who foster a sense of employee ownership for safety initiatives see more sustained engagement from the workforce.

Tactics to Achieve Frontline Employee Buy-In
Frontline employees typically become increasingly motivated to support organizational safety initiatives when they are regularly educated about how safety supports their physical health, mental well-being and overall quality of life.

One way to highlight these benefits is to make safety training engaging, practical and connected to employees’ everyday work tasks. To keep sessions fresh and impactful, offer various training formats, including interactive workshops, videos and real-world scenarios in the field.

Another strategy to achieve frontline employee buy-in of safety initiatives is to regularly recognize those workers who consistently engage in the initiatives or help improve safety processes. Positive reinforcement for a job well done makes employees feel good about their successes and often motivates them to continue their safe behaviors in the future.

Lastly, leaders across the organization must work to ensure safety is woven into the fabric of daily operations. Make it a core organizational focus by including safety updates in weekly meetings and internal and external newsletters and by incorporating safety discussions into employee performance reviews.

Conclusion
Through our work over the past 10 years, we’ve observed that safety initiatives make the greatest impact when an organization’s senior leadership actively participates in them, frontline management consistently prioritizes them, and frontline workers feel a sense of ownership for them.

For senior leadership, visible commitment and engagement set the tone for the rest of the company. Leaders who model safe behaviors and provide visible support send a message that safety is a core company value, not just another checkbox.

Frontline managers are the bridge between senior leadership and frontline employees. When these managers prioritize safety each day, promote accountability and share outcomes, they empower their teams to integrate safety into their operational flow and contribute to long-term success.

Frontline workers are the heart of any safety initiative. When they can see the direct benefits to their well-being, they are more likely to take ownership of an initiative and remain actively engaged. So, make training relevant, ensure safety is part of employees’ everyday workflow and provide positive reinforcement for desired behaviors. These actions help organizations build lasting safety cultures.

Over time, my team and I have seen firsthand how these strategies have helped numerous organizations create a ripple effect of positive safety outcomes. When buy-in is achieved at every level, safety initiatives can evolve from short-term efforts into a sustained safety culture that protects employees and drives operational excellence.

About the Author: Kevin Rindal, D.C., is co-founder and CEO of Vimocity (www.vimocity.com), a soft-tissue injury prevention partner that has helped leading utility companies reduce common and costly injuries. Rindal has a robust background in human performance, including working with the U.S. Olympic Swim Team as a member of the medical staff. Over the last decade, he’s brought the latest human performance and safety practices to over 40,000 utility workers through targeted education to promote physical and job readiness.

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DECEMBER 2024-JANUARY 2025

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