Is this a Step Change?
The eagerly-awaited Workforce Engagement Toolkit was officially launched at a special network event at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre today (Wednesday 5 September), where around 230 oil and gas safety professionals and offshore safety representatives were in attendance.
The toolkit promises to positively transform the way oil and gas companies interact with staff and improve safety at worksites.
The first of its kind, it has been designed to help companies measure workforce engagement at individual worksites, identify areas of improvement and provide practical guidance on how to make these improvements.
Developed by Step Change in Safety’s Workforce Engagement Steering Group, the toolkit will help companies enhance their ‘safety culture’ at worksites, by helping foster a culture where the workforce is not just following rules but is encouraged to actively lead efforts to improve safety performance.
The toolkit contains a unique worksite survey, which can be completed online or on paper by every employee at a worksite, regardless of their employer, with all input confidential.
The questions encourage the person completing it to think about a number of factors which can then help determine the level of workforce engagement at a site. These include, for example, how visible they think leaders are, how much they feel they are encouraged to participate in safety and how well they think leaders communicate and act to address safety issues.
Data is submitted directly to Step Change and a summary report is then issued back to the worksite. The results will help leaders understand areas of strength and weakness and develop improvement plans and allow them to benchmark performance against other worksites across the industry.
The launch event featured presentations from those involved in the toolkit’s development. These included: the co-chairs of the Workforce Engagement Steering Group, Ian Sharp and Mike Bowyer; the Health and Safety Executive’s Head of Offshore Division, Steve Walker; and the RMT union’s Jake Molloy.
Co-chair of Step Change’s Workforce Engagement Steering Group,
“The workforce has to feel able and willing to challenge and participate fully. Therefore influential people such as supervisors, site leaders and senior managers have to be visible, communicate effectively, encourage involvement and provide support in order to create a culture of engagement in health and safety.â€
Fellow co-chair, Mike Bowyer, added: “The Workforce Engagement Toolkit not only provides practical guidance for leaders, but helps them understand their own worksite-specific strengths and areas for improvement. Once they’ve identified the obstacles which are deterring effective engagement, they can work to remove them.
“Whilst using the survey at any worksite will be of benefit, if widely adopted, the toolkit promises to positively transform workforce engagement across the UK Continental Shelf.â€
Recommended Comments