Accountability Making sure you walk the talk

A Short Story This is a story about people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody

There was an important job that needed to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody would not do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Confused? When you don’t have well defined and understood responsibilities (accountabilities) performance suffers. You need to define what employees do and then measure and reward their actions.

Accountability Defined Every employee is responsible for making the safety program successful. They should clearly understand their responsibilities. They should be evaluated on how they perform them. The company should develop a system to reward employees who demonstrate a commitment to accountability.

Defining Activity Measures An accident is an unplanned event. Should you be measured on unplanned events? Why not measure objective activities?

Criteria for creating useful measures It should measure the performance of the task It should specifically address a particular activity Measure for safety activity not absence Provide a means for swift and continuing feedback Provide an alert if something is wrong

Accountability Model What is your current level of accountability in your company’s safety program?

Accountability Model Poor Minimum safety resources Lack of management involvement High incident rate Safety activities are a burden

Accountability Model Fair Minimum safety program Basic management accountability Incident rate fluctuates Accident investigations are not thorough

Accountability Model Good Basic safety program Accountability is clearly understood Incident rate is equal or less than industry average Accident investigation process is in place

Accountability Model Ideal Safety accountability assigned to all levels Behavior based safety creates ownership Incident rate is less than industry average Payoff Quality Production Incident rates

Safety Activities Accountability should be defined for each level: Employees Supervisors Middle managers Senior managers Accountabilities should be defined in your safety process

Safety Activities Employees: Wearing protective equipment Participation in safety meetings Reporting near misses Conducting safe behaviors Practicing good housekeeping Accountability Activity Worksheet Sample Activities listed in Tool Kit

Safety Activities Supervisors: Investigate accidents Inspect the workplace Hold safety meetings Enforce rules Make observations Keep documentation records Sample Activities listed in Tool Kit

Safety Activities Supervisor Weekly Safety Report Track activities: Safety meeting Safety inspection One-to-one employee contacts Injury status Other safety tasks Sample form located in Tool Kit

Safety Activities Middle management: Review supervisor reports Audit the quality of inspections Develop safety management skills in direct reports Participate in safety programs Discuss safety problem solving activities

Safety Activities Senior management: Monitor reports Attend safety meetings Visibly demonstrate support for safety efforts Lead by example

Measures Example Measures: Number of activity tasks completed Acceptable percentile ranges Performance appraisal weighting (%)

Rewards Handouts Desk accessories Awards Gift certificates Company car Status Office window Private office

Rewards Financial Money Stocks Profit sharing Peer Rewards Formal acknowledgement of achievement Solicitation of advice Job with more responsibility Use of company facility/equipment for personal projects

Questions?