Culture Change
THE KRAUSE BELL GROUP APPROACH TO CULTURE CHANGE
Enhancing the Demonstrated Value of Safety
When Krause Bell Group is approached about culture change, we find that what most people want is to enhance how safety is demonstrated and supported within the organization. It is not unusual for people to share what they would like to see at the front-line level.
Employees watching out for one another, immediately addressing unsafe conditions within their control to fix, reporting unsafe conditions and near misses, being engaged in safety activities instead of just participating, and consistently following the rules and procedures. Seeing these actions at the worker level is an indicator of a culture where safety is strongly valued.
THE CHALLENGE OF CULTURE CHANGE
Why is Culture Change So Difficult?
Most organizations try to change culture directly. They define which values to demonstrate, create a broad communication campaign with posters, videos, and testimonials, and assign culture champions to various parts of the organization.
The problem is that culture is not a program. Culture is something an organization has, it is something that is created. Culture results from the thousands of leadership decisions, hundreds of thousands of interactions, the working conditions, and the systems provided.
Culture change specifically focused on safety often fails because there is a lack of understanding that enhancing the demonstrated value of safety is not just about focusing on safety. Safety is not isolated; it is not something separate from Organizational Culture. It is an element of the culture. A failure to address the overall culture, specifically the health of relationships across all levels, will cause the change effort to fail or stall.
THE REAL DRIVERS OF CULTURE
Changing Culture Through How Work is Done
Building maturity in safety leadership capability starts with building awareness and understanding of new safety leadership ideas and concepts. The next stage of maturity requires incorporating these new concepts into the leaders’ behavior. Finally, the safety leaders’ behaviors lead to new habits, including explicitly making safer decisions and allowing them to coach other leaders.
Culture changes through how work is done. Not just safety work, but all work. It relates to how leaders:
Each action, activity, and decision shapes the culture. Each one independently demonstrates what the organization values, not simply what it says it values.
Questions to Ask to Drive Culture Change
Changing culture requires more effort than administering a survey, analyzing the results, and launching a culture initiative. It starts by asking the right questions and understanding how everyday interactions and work shape people’s experiences and behaviors:
- Are leaders performing critical safety activities in a quality manner, demonstrating the right leadership skills?
- Do your leaders and employees have the required knowledge and skills?
- What conflicting messages around production vs safety are employees receiving?
- How are the desired safety behaviors rewarded?
- Are your safety systems enabling the desired behavior?
- Are your HR systems sustaining the desired actions and culture?
- Are your contractor management systems aimed at deflecting responsibility, or increasing partnership?
- Does your organizational structure allow for relationship building across and within levels?
- What makes showing the desired behaviors difficult?
KRAUSE BELL GROUP CULTURE CHANGE SOLUTIONS
Proven Tools and Techniques to Build Strong Organizational Cultures
Krause Bell Group has a wide range of tools and solutions available to help organizations build the culture they need:
Learn more about Krause Bell Group’s approach to building stronger, safer cultures:
- Book: If Your Culture Could Talk: A Story About Culture Change
- Culture Sustains Performance: An Excerpt from 7 Insights Into Safety Leadership (This article is also available in Portuguese and French)
- Why Safety Procedures Don’t Always Lead to Safe Behaviors
- 5 Essential Building Blocks for Improving Organizational Culture
- Video: What is Safety Culture?
