What is Your Employee Safety Experience?

Transforming the way we "do" safety to deliver a thriving business.

The Key to Solving True Employee Engagement and Transforming Performance.

Imagine a workplace where safety is a catalyst for engagement, innovation, and growth. Transforming your culture through safety can unlock unprecedented levels of employee motivation and organizational success. Ready to see the results? Everyone knows that safer organizations are more productive, but why?

Let's dive in.

The Simplest Explanation of Engagement

Across industries, countries, and continents, there is more that unites us as human beings than divides us. Our brains are wired to notice things that help us contribute to the tribe (organization) we joined and feel good about engaging. Our brains also notice what doesn’t help, signaling rejection and disengagement.

Within your organization, ask yourself which departments help and support you and which don’t, then decide if you like or dislike working with them. That is the simplest form of cultural assessment you can do; your brain creates time and energy saving shortcuts based on past experiences to tell you whether or not you’d like to collaborate in the future.  It comes naturally and instinctively and it is hard to change.

A more complicated assessment lies in purpose, meaning, mastery, and autonomy, and you need to know how each is affected to know what to change, but that comes later.

So, consider the safety department. Few argue that safety isn’t important or necessary, but many argue that an approach of rules and tools that prevent or correct don’t create value or stimulate innovation.

There is obvious inherent value to safety, to say otherwise in unethical; what we are describing is entry-level Maslow as many approaches to safety haven’t moved up the intrinsic motivational hierarchy.

Delving Deeper into Long-Term Motivation

Motivation thrives on purpose, meaning, mastery, and autonomy. These elements shape corporate culture, acting as both strengths and potential weaknesses. Departments dedicated to their specialized roles find fulfillment in their tasks when they grow mastery in execution and have autonomy over how they deliver. However, inter-departmental conflicts can impede these motivational drivers, leading to disengagement and siloed behavior.

Conversely, when departments support each other, fostering collaboration and recognizing the contributions that come from each department’s diverse perspectives, they create a culture of truthfulness, belonging, and innovation. This collaborative environment not only enhances efficiency but also aligns with the principles of trust, meaningful contribution, and recognition, thereby enriching the employee experience.

The Revelation: Employee Safety Experience and Psychological Distance

Psychological Distance refers to the perceived closeness or remoteness between departments within an organization, based on their interactions and the perceived effect of these interactions on social wellbeing. This concept can be measured using two hierarchies or scales:

Social Wellbeing Hierarchy:

Every Human is Motivated to Secure Social Wellbeing Within the Tribe

Subject	Description	Why Important	Can't Climb Until
Fairness	Entry level: interactions are judged on the fair use of knowledge and power to help	Fair interactions build trust and reduce social risk	If interaction don’t feel fair, they won’t ever feel fully safe.
Safety	Next, interactions are evaluated on whether they bring social help or harm	Safe interactions encourage open communication and collaboration	If it doesn’t feel safe, then we’ll never be aligned on purpose and values.
Alignment on Purpose and Values	Interactions are then assessed for alignment with individual, group, and organizational purpose/values.	Aligned interactions enhance motivation and engagement, it feels safe and productive when you’re treated with dignity and respect.	If you’re not aligned, then interactions won’t add value to your purpose, or you won’t like the way you are treated.
Value	Interactions are judged on their contribution to meaning and mastery.	Worthwhile interactions foster long-term motivation as they create personal growth.	If we don’t value the interactions, the relationships will not be vital to mastery of purpose.
Vital	Interactions that are vital lead to a sense of thriving at work, collaboration on shared purpose in a way that fulfills meaning and mastery, elevating the experience to one of joy at work and enduring commitment and contribution to shared purpose.

Engagement Scale:

Our Brains produce chemicals that help us figure out how to survive and who helps us thrive!

Subject	Description	Why Important	Can't Climb Until
Necessary	Basic, functional interactions required for operational purposes.	Interact to get tasks done and avoid trouble	We move from necessary to helpful
Helpful	Interactions that provide support and assistance enhance collaboration.	Help is reciprocal, we help to the extent that we are helped	We perceive character and competence is trustworthy
Trust	Interactions that are mutually beneficial are characterized by open and honest information sharing	Information sharing leads to informed decisions, in the absence of trust decisions are by definition ill-informed	You prove that information shared leads to social help and collaboration is worth the effort.
Belonging	Interactions based on inclusion, foster a sense of belonging, strengthening team cohesion.	Belonging means accepted for who we are, ideas and challenges are welcome.	We are confident that mutual support will always be provided to overcome challenges and grow ideas.
Vital	Interactions and contributions are intentionally sought, continuous learning and personal growth are inherent in relationships, driving commitment, creativity and innovation.

The Revelation: Employee Safety Experience

So, how are your safety services and business practices pitched relative to Maslow?

Your Employee Safety Experience becomes more negative than positive if safety interactions get in the way of your personal or department’s purpose, tasks don’t add meaning, or they don’t help you learn how to do your job better. Engagement is motivational if safety services defined within organizational practices help you get what you need to do your job in a more meaningful way.

The Ah-Ha Moment

If your safety services are more about “catch and correct” than “connect and create”, then you don’t need to change the level of engagement; you need to change the way you do safety to create a positive Employee Safety Experience.

This shift not only enhances safety but also fosters a culture of collaboration, trust, and innovation, ultimately leading to a more engaged and motivated workforce.

Accelerate the Learning:

Ready to transform your safety culture and unlock true employee engagement?

Connect with OrgTree.Me today to learn how our unique approach can help you create a positive Employee Safety Experience that drives long-term motivation and organizational success.

Let's collaborate to build a safer, more engaged, and fruitful workplace.

curious@orgtree.me

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