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Employees are the eyes and ears of any organisation, the Directors or owners can’t see everything. Often employees are not encouraged to provide feedback. It’s part of the culture of an organisation they work in. Responsible businesses however usually encourage staff to come forward with the problem; even better with at least one possible solution! This results in great improvement within these businesses.
In the course of the whole organisation going through an accredited safety training programme, one of our clients found that their staff brought up a huge range of issues that needed to be addressed.
Initially, the members of staff were cautious – they were afraid to ‘criticise’ the company and were unsure about how their feedback would be received. We knew that the Directors took their business seriously and, the very fact that they had arranged training for all of their 300+ staff demonstrated that they took their responsibilities seriously. Nevertheless we had to reassure the staff that they would not be victimised or penalised for speaking up. We instituted the Chatham House Rule and also discussed this with the Directors.
The Chatham House Rule
When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed"
They were 100% in favour of knowing where there were issues that needed attention – whether safety related or just general issues where things could be improved. They were quite happy that people retained their anonymity. Their view was that, if there were things they didn’t know about, they were risking their business, which wouldn’t be a very responsible approach!
Regulations require employers to consult with their employees over safety issues. Training rooms are often an environment where issues come up – and offer an opportunity for the organisation to improve. Whether the owners or directors choose to take the opportunity is often the difference between an organisation that excels and one that just gets by.
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 Malcolm Tullett launched IRM Safety in 1997 and merged with Risk Interventions in 2008 to form Risk and Safety Plus Ltd.
Malcolm has a wonderfully refreshing attitude to Health and Safety and Risk Assessment: mention the word “conkers” to him and he is likely to give you a lecture on the idiocy of people who don’t know what a risk assessment is about! If you are looking for a common sense approach, Malcolm is the person to speak to.
Malcolm is an ex-firefighter and a former skydiver: he understands risk! Even more importantly, Malcolm understands business and the entrepreneurial spirit. He believes that the compliance of Health and Safety and risk management should be a profit generator; something that is incorporated into the core of a business and part of the business improvement process. Malcolm makes compliance work for businesses instead of being an obstacle.
Malcolm has also won an IET (Institution of Engineering & Technology) award for his concept - PROPA™ which helps deliver integrated risk and safety.
Contact Malcolm on 0845 430 9461 or e-mail: malcolm.tullett@riskandsafetyplus.com
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