Managing change in an organization ’ s culture is outside many people ’ s comfort zone . It was certainly outside mine when I started to study change strategies . After some research , I learned there are several “ easier said than done ” steps to affect any change in an organization . Getting started is one of the most difficult steps .
Culturing Our Safety Culture
Changing the Safety Culture of an Industry
By Steve Lemon
Editor ’ s Note : The views expressed are the author ’ s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Event Safety Alliance .
Managing change in an organization ’ s culture is outside many people ’ s comfort zone . It was certainly outside mine when I started to study change strategies . After some research , I learned there are several “ easier said than done ” steps to affect any change in an organization . Getting started is one of the most difficult steps .
There are many good resources on change management , some are referenced in this article . As with most things we do , the likelihood of achieving successful change is tied to advance preparation and planning and that was the genesis for this article . My goal is to introduce the reader to ‘ change management ’ and inspire them to research what will work for their organization so they can get start or restart their own safety program .
Boiled down , here is the most basic process for cultural change : begin the process , build on that beginning , manage the process by continuing to update and maintain the process . Simple !
Except , it ’ s not simple . It is a struggle for even the most experienced change managers because no two organizations or change strategies are the same . Every change strategy must be tailored to each organization based on the circumstances at hand .
If you feel you don ’ t even know where to begin or your process is stalled , you are not alone . This article will introduce you to steps you can take so you can create a process or help you dislodge your stalled safety program . Be aware that managing change can take a lot of time . To expedite results , everyone in the organization must be willing to accept and buy into the program . More on buy-in later .
We work in a “ here today , gone later today ” industry . We want to see results now , not in five or ten years . I think most of us agree that in ten years , our industry ’ s safety culture should improve significantly . I would add that our work will likely need to continue indefinitely . Based on comparisons to others in similar circumstances , I will suggest if history can teach us anything , it is that in ten years and beyond we will still be having many of the same fundamental conversations about event safety we are now .
Regardless of evidence supporting the importance safety in
28 our industry , there will always be factors that influence people to disregard what they know is right and place themselves and others in harm ’ s way . These influences often come in the form of requests from leadership or pressure from peers , and for many can be very hard to push back on . Many good , experienced people do unwise things out of fear of retaliation , such as not being hired again .
In the term “ safety culture ”, the word “ culture ” is used as a noun , as in , “ the behaviors and belief characteristics of a particular social , ethnic , or age group ”. I propose we also consider using the word “ culture ” as a verb , as in , “ to maintain an organism in conditions suitable for growth ”. We need to “ culture our safety culture ”.
Safety cultures consist of shared beliefs , practices , and attitudes that exist in an organization . Culture is the atmosphere created by those beliefs , attitudes , etc . which shape our behavior . An organization ’ s safety culture is the result of several factors , such as :
• Management and employee norms , assumptions and beliefs
• Management and employee attitudes
• Values , myths , stories
• Policies and procedures
• Supervisor priorities , responsibilities and accountability
• Production and bottom line pressures vs . quality issues
• Actions or lack of action to correct unsafe behaviors
• Employee training and motivation , and
• Employee involvement or “ buy-in ” ( USDOL , 1970 )
Culturing Our Safety Culture
A major challenge to changing safety culture for many organizations in the live event industry is you can ’ t change something that doesn ’ t exist . The below may partially explain why we are resistant to change .
Organizational culture frequently echoes the prevailing management style . Since managers tend to hire people just like themselves , the established organizational culture is reinforced by new hires . Organizational culture grows over time . People are comfortable with the current culture . For people to consider culture change , usually a significant event must
Changing the
Safety Culture of
an Industry
By Steve Lemon
Managing change in an organization’s cul-
ture is outside many people’s comfort zone. It was certainly
outside mine when I started to study change strategies. After
some research, I learned there are several “easier said than
done” steps to affect any change in an organization. Getting
started is one of the most difficult steps.
There are many good resources on change management,
some are referenced in this article. As with most things we do,
the likelihood of achieving successful change is tied to ad-
vance preparation and planning and that was the genesis for
this article. My goal is to introduce the reader to ‘change man-
agement’ and inspire them to research what will work for their
organization so they can get start or restart their own safety
program.
Boiled down, here is the most basic process for cultural
change: begin the process, build on that beginning, manage
the process by continuing to update and maintain the pro-
cess. Simple!
Except, it’s not simple. It is a struggle for even the most expe-
rienced change managers because no two organizations or
change strategies are the same. Every change strategy must
be tailored to each organization based on the circumstances
at hand.
If you feel you don’t even know where to begin or your pro-
cess is stalled, you are not alone. This article will introduce you
to steps you can take so you can create a process or help you
dislodge your stalled safety program. Be aware that manag-
ing change can take a lot of time. To expedite results, every-
one in the organization must be willing to accept and buy into
the program. More on buy-in later.
We work in a“here today, gone later today” industry. We want
to see results now, not in five or ten years. I think most of us
agree that in ten years, our industry’s safety culture should im-
prove significantly. I would add that our work will likely need
to continue indefinitely. Based on comparisons to others in
similar circumstances, I will suggest if history can teach us any-
thing, it is that in ten years and beyond we will still be having
many of the same fundamental conversations about event
safety we are now.
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