EVERYBODY’S SAFER WHEN OUR OUTSIDE CREWS DECIDE TO
Speak Up/Listen Up
By Becky Burks
Certified Safety Professional Mike Simmons couldn’t agree more. As Job Training & Safety Coordinator with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Murfreesboro, Simmons spent time a few weeks ago sharing the Speak Up/Listen up message (a version customized for utility workers) with AEC employees. “The purpose of this training,” he says, “is to help give them a comfort level when it comes to sharing constructive criticism—the courage and confidence they need in order to approach one of their buddies with a word of caution. And it’s just as important to emphasize the need for an open mind on the receiving end of the message. If a co-worker says a word to you about something they’ve observed, you need to respond with the same kind of care and respect they’ve expressed when bringing the issue to your attention. If you can keep in mind that their purpose in saying something is because they don’t want you to get hurt, that puts things into perspective.”
The half-day training that Co-op employees received emphasized the fact that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Sometimes, you’ll be the one doing the pointing out; the next time, one of your co-workers may be calling something to your attention. Regardless of who’s got the most seniority or where you are in the grand scheme of things, you have just as much of a right—and responsibility—as the next person, when it comes to having that safety conversation. Accountability is a big part of the Speak up/ Listen up concept. “It’s not enough to just mention a safety issue to someone,” says Simmons. “What you want to do is first ask permission to bring up a safety concern. Mutual respect is essential for both the sharing and receiving of safety messages. You’re seeking both an agreement and a commitment: an acknowledgement that, yes, there’s an issue that needs addressing and that steps will be taken to correct the situation. Once that’s been established, it’s up to the person who initiated the conversation to follow up— sometimes, more than once. They need to check in, see that corrective action has been taken, and close that loop. That way, no further—or formal—measures need to be implemented. No one gets punished for a violation of rules and the accident that might otherwise have occurred never happens.”
The Speak up/Listen up program works so well because it’s built around the presumption that the people in the best position to observe—and do something about—potential safety issues are those that are out there doing the work together.” Simmons will make a return trip to the Co-op before the end of the year, to guide us through some role-playing exercises designed to help us overcome both the reluctance some people have in providing constructive feedback and the tendency of others to sometimes get bogged down in either who’s delivering the message or the method of delivery. “These are barriers that can be overcome,” says Simmons. “And the easiest way to do that is to practice. If peer-to-peer safety conversations become a habit here at AEC, there’s every reason to believe that what is already a very successful program by any measure can become even more effective.”