Worker Engagement & Do Your Bit

‘A Company Perspective’

By

John Thorley & Neil Taylor

Aims of the presentation (an overview of):• The barriers to implementing worker engagement

• How and why we started engagement

• Planning for effective consultation

• What does and doesn’t work

• Benefits of the ‘Do Your Bit’ course & Safety Rep feedback

Company status on worker engagement:

Status Description

Adversarial Organisation decides what its objectives are and imposes these on the workforce.

PartnershipOrganisation involves the workforce in devising its own safety management but retains final decision.

Power Sharing Workforce actively involved in day to day and companywide decision making.

We think we’re about here (2011)

• Health and safety often not seen by directorship as a priority

• Old school thinking – safety seen as cost not a benefit (saving)

• Fear of organised resistance to corporate plans and insistence on inflexible working rules and conditions

• Representatives being pushed into roles

• Suspicion as to potential representatives motives to volunteer

• How much is it going to cost in relation to training and lost productivity?

Barriers to worker engagement:

How and why worker engagement started:

• Change in Directors allowing facilitation of committee

• Change in legislation (Corporate Manslaughter / H & S Offences)• Health and Safety Director appointed• Directors responsibilities clarified in IOSH Directing Safely• SMS in place - focus turned to PEOPLE• Consultation with UCATT

What works

• Buy in at Board level

• Effective consultation with specialists (HSE / UCATT)

• A passion and drive for continuous improvement

• Invite volunteers – DON’T appoint people

• Ensure balance of representation across all departments and levels of the business• Being ambitious and realistic

October 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

April 2010

May 2010 - Present

November 2010December 2010

September 2010

March 2011

New Safety Management System implementedH & S Director Appointed / Worker Engagement highlighted (strategy)Initial consultation with UCATT

Board agreement reached regarding H & S Consultation CommitteeCompanywide invitation for committee representatives sentCommittee formulated / monthly meetings

ROES attended HSE ‘Do your bit’ training (successful passes)Positive feedback given to Bardsley relating to ‘DYB’ course

Site ‘Representatives of Employee Safety’ (ROES) appointed

ROES formally appointed

Worker Engagement Timeline

Barriers to implementing worker engagement and Site Safety Reps at site level

• Representatives being appointed as opposed to volunteers

• Site operatives and contractors resistant to change

• Reluctance to impart information for fear of reprisal (culture)

• Representatives being seen as ‘Management Spies’• Highlighting to the workforce that you are their representative

• Listening to general concerns from the workforce

• Liaison between operatives and management

• Impartiality

The future

• Not to leave the ROES ‘high and dry’

• Educate and inform (file 14 SMS – H &S reference)

• Ongoing training by H & S Department

• Accompaniment on H & S Inspections

• Allow access to H & S Consultative Committee

• Publicise successes of Committee and ROES

Example from the ‘front-line’

Thank you for time and attention

Any Questions ?