Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM October 2019 | Page 16

HR CORNER
QUINTIN DEAN
HR Coordinator
Smarter HR Solutions, LLC
713-999-1205
www.smarterhrsolutions.com
4 STEPS for effective
safety meetings
W
hen it comes to workplace safety, there
is no better time to promote new ideas
or reinforce safe working habits than
in a safety meeting. However, we often
see small business owners asking how
to make their safety meetings more effective.
It’s important that owners, managers and
employees don’t think of safety meetings as a
waste of time. Here are some simple steps that
you can take to ensure all your safety meetings
moving forward are a success!
Step 1: Preparation
The safety meeting might be led
by the business owner, the safety
director, the site supervisor, the HR
manager or someone else the
company has designated as
the best person for the job.
If the person leading the
safety meeting isn’t
prepared then the
attendees won’t
take the message
seriously.
Make
sure the word
gets out. Email,
Calendar Invites,
Text Messages, a
poster on the bulletin
board… whatever is the best
communication method for
your teams. Send out reminders
the day before and have shift
supervisors or the foreman remind
teams when the next mandatory safety
meeting will be held.
Set the objective of your safety meeting
and make it clear when you send out the
meeting invitation and again at the opening of
the safety meeting.
Step 2: Timing
Put yourself in the shoes of the employees.
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MOMENTUM
After a long day at work would you really pay attention
to a safety meeting, and then would you retain that
information for the next day on the job when you
need it? Depending on the work environment, the
shift schedules, and the location of the employees,
plan the location, length, and timing of the
safety meeting so that the employees are most
engaged during that time. At the beginning
of every shift or at the start of the workday is a
great time to host safety meetings to get crews
into the right mindset for the day.
Step 3: Delivery
The topic of the safety meeting
should be relevant and a discussion
is more likely to engage your
team rather than a lecture-style
meeting. You won’t see the
best results if you’re just
reading from a sheet
of paper like a robot.
The more visuals
you can provide,
the better so
consider
incorporating
photos,
charts, videos,
or a hands-on
demonstration into
the safety meeting.
Step 4: Follow-up
Consider asking for
feedback at the end of or
after each meeting. Be open to
suggestions for improvement and
solicit safety meeting topics from the
team. If it was their idea and it’s important
to them then they will be more likely to be
engaged at the next meeting.
Safety meetings are important, valuable and
productive if you just follow a few key steps to
communicate, engage and deliver a message
that is relevant to the employees.