21 EHS Points for Great EHS Leaders

For safety and health professionals who may be considering

embarking on cultural change within their organization,
below an action plan is provided to assist in this process:

1. Be enthusiastic. Focus on a positive and winning attitude.

2. Plan your work and work your plan. Each and every level of your education, training, and accountability process should be mapped
and analyzed. Be creative and challenge the status quo.

3. Show respect to all employees at all levels. Who knows the job better than the individual who performs the job daily?

4. Be accountable. Your employees, managers, and executives are accountable for their safety and health performance. And the safety

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and health professional should hold himself or herself accountable. If you say you are going to do something, do it

5. Listen intently to your employees. Safety and health professionals should stop what they are doing and listen intently to any comments or
ideas that any employee should bring forward. Safety and health professionals should acknowledge and thank the employee for his or her
active involvement in safety and health.

6. Be a good example. As the coach, safety and health professionals should always set the standard for safety and health by always wearing
the appropriate PPE and always following the safety and health rules. “Do what I say and not what I do” doesn't work in safety and health.

7. Speak and communicate safety and health daily. Safety and health professionals should be current on all new regulations, standards,

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and trends within the function and communicate this information throughout the organization. Safety and health doesn't take a day

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off; thus, the safety and health professional should be actively communicating and promoting safety and health on a daily basis.

8. Open your door to employees. Safety and heath professionals should be readily available for employees to communicate with them.
Safety and health professionals should strive to create a level of comfort for all employees to become actively involved and take
ownership of the safety and health function.

9. Be visible on the shop oor. Although safety and health professionals are often overwhelmed with their many duties and responsibilities,
it is important to schedule time each day to be on the shop oor. The visibility of the safety and health professional reinforces the
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importance of safety and health to employees.

10. Communicate clearly and concisely. Safety and health professionals should strive to ensure that all communications are clear, concise,
and with no “gray areas” that may be subject to interpretation. Safety and health professionals should ensure that communications are
provided at the appropriate educational levels for each function within their organization and with substantial clarity to ensure no ambiguity.

11. Pat employees on the back. Safety and health professionals should consistently recognize the safety and health efforts of their employees
and provide incentives to spur further involvement and personal ownership in the safety and health function. Incentives do not need to be
a formalized program, but activities such as a pat on the back, a handwritten note, or other personalized recognition can be effective.

12. Avoid taking credit for employees' accomplishments. Through empowerment of employees, the safety and health function becomes
a team effort. Safety and health professionals should always acknowledge their employees' accomplishments in safety and health
and should never claim credit for the work of the team.

13. Leaders without titles. Safety and health professionals should recognize that many organizations have leaders who function without
the requisite title or position. These leaders can be instrumental in the success of your empowerment efforts as well as your overall
safety and health program. Safety and health professionals should recognize these leaders and cultivate their leadership skills and
abilities within the overall safety and health function.*

14. Ensure ongoing education and training. The safety and health function is a marathon rather than a sprint. Ongoing education and
training empowers employees with the skills and abilities to take true ownership over the safety and health function.

15. Acknowledge employee accomplishments. Continuous and pertinent feedback as to the achievements of the safety and health efforts is
essential. Safety and health professionals should recognize and reward the team's efforts within the safety and health function.
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16. Eliminate “I” from your language. Safety and health professionals should recognize that the ownership of the safety and health function
now belongs to the team. The safety and health professional, as the coach, should recognize this transition and always recognize the
team's efforts. The simple change from “I” to “we” can go a long way in creating ownership of the safety and health function.

17. Invite feedback and respond. Safety and health professionals should create comfortable situations where employees are invited to
provide their thoughts and feedback with regards to safety and health issues. Safety and health professionals should recognize that
the comfort level and time for acceptance of these new duties and responsibilities may vary among and between individual employees.

18. Be willing to do the job you are asking them to do. Safety and health professionals should make the time to spend at least a few
minutes at each and every job station within the operation and talk with the employee performing the job function. Safety and health
professionals should not ask any employee to perform any task that they themselves would be unwilling to perform.

19. Be willing to be exible. Although safety and health standards can sometimes be restrictive, it is important for safety and health
professionals to listen to their team members' ideas and be exible in their assessments.

20. Be fair and consistent. In holding team members accountable for their safety and health responsibilities, safety and health professionals
should ensure that they are always fair and consistent in each and every decision.

21. Be a great coach. Safety and health professionals, as the coach of the team, should strive to bring out the best safety and health
performance in each employee in each job. The safety and health professional should challenge and inspire the team members and
encourage top-level safety and health performance.

Deals in All Safety Gadgets, Posters, Signages

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