Category: Communication

It’s time to have The Talk.

The conversation about #safety.

Now is the perfect time because it’s National #SafeWorkMonth.

And because safety is everyone’s business, even if you don’t wear high-vis and a hard hat.

High stakes but it’s not a game

Imagine: a team member notices a potential safety hazard but hesitates to speak up. Or someone misinterprets instructions, leading to an unsafe work practice. Or a crucial safety update doesn’t reach everyone because the channels aren’t understood.

These moments of silence or miscommunication can have a ripple effect and serious consequences.

Back to basics

At the elementary level: does everyone on your team know how to identify and report safety risks, including cyber and psychological ones?

And what to do when hazards become hairy scary actualities?

I’m talking about the forms, the chain of texts and phone calls, the who to tell and what to say, when and where.

Clear and concise communication is crucial in emergency situations.

Timely and accurate information saves lives.

And work. And money. And reputational butt.

Taking a team approach

At the next level: do your people realise and respect the reasons for the safety communication protocols?

When you know what matters to each person you’re responsible for, and how they like or don’t like to process information, you can create and deliver safety messages in ways that make sense to them.

It’s useful to know who the risk takers are and what their take is on safety, then see how that fits with the company policy and procedure (orange personalities).

Maybe engage your problem-solvers to come up with better ways to keep everyone alert to what might happen and what to do next (greens).

Have you asked your best communicators to keep the message meaningful (blues)?

The sticklers for rules and regulations (golds) are often assigned WHS roles but they’re not always the best people to cajole compliance.

Bridging the safety communication gap

Research into why some industries still bear enormous human and financial costs from unsafe work practices, despite advances in legislation, compliance and technology, revealed safety communication and commitment to matter significantly.

Frontiers in Public Health published a systematic literature review of 4 communication dimensions for Safety Week last year. It found that communication mechanisms, climate and satisfaction are major contributors to safety outcomes in the oil and gas industry.

Another study revealed that “safety communication partially mediates the association between safety culture and safety performance. Further, safety culture was found to have a significant and positive effect on safety performance.”

Safety communication is more than the exchange of information; it’s also about influencing behaviour and attitudes about workplace safety.

A report from Monash University’s Accident Research Centre and the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research drew attention to the critical need for value-based safety communication, whereby trust and respect support the translation of safety rules, requirements and regulations.

“Position descriptions outline the roles and responsibilities of supervisors in the safety management of workers as stipulated by OHS regulations, yet the process in which this information is translated to workers is often overlooked… effective translation of safety policies and procedures requires a high level of interpersonal skill.”

Cultivating a commitment to safety communication

So, how do we create an environment where clear communication and safety go hand-in-hand? Here are 7 strategies for making that dusty WHS policy do more than sit on the shelf:

1. Establish clear expectations: Share the importance of communication and the correct channels (e.g., email, team meetings, project management tools) for information sharing.

2. Foster psychological safety: Create a safe space where team members feel comfortable expressing concerns without fear of judgment.

3. Practise active listening: When they do speak up, give team members your full attention, ask clarifying questions, and offer feedback.

4. Encourage safety conversations: Promote a culture where team members feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns, about any type of safety issue.

5. Lead by example: Express your own thoughts about safety issues, be approachable, and recognise and reward helpful safety communication.

6. Turn on the tech: Use tools like communication apps, project management software, and virtual meeting platforms to enhance interaction efficiency and engagement.

7. Continuously improve: Regularly assess and adjust your team’s safety communication messages and protocols to ensure everyone is up to date with best practice.

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care offers some clear organisational processes to support effective communication that could be adapted for any industry, like these:

“Provide information about the policies, processes, resources and tools for communicating at key high-risk situations to all members of the workforce.

Educate, train and support the workforce about the use of these tools and their responsibilities to effectively communicate in key high-risk situations.

Consider how teams work and communicate with each other within and outside the organisation (across disciplines).”

A breakdown of communication or culture can make a risky situation more likely to become a reality and 10 times worse to deal with.

It’s time to have that talk with your team. Ask them if they know what to do, how to do it and feel confident about speaking up.

Effective safety communication is not just about avoiding accidents—it’s about building trust, fostering a positive work environment, and ultimately, saving lives, limbs and livelihoods.

This month particularly, and every other day, mind the communication gap.

Need interpersonal skills training for your team leaders? Tap the button to book a complimentary and unconditional Tell Me More Call.

Book a Tell Me More Call 

Tap back to Communisence for more practical tips

Go on, admit it.

Like me, this is what your mind’s eye conjures when you see or hear the word ‘hippocampus’.

This made-up mental image is actually the hippocampus doing its job: connecting memories of previous learning (just not quite the right ones in this case!)

And now we have an eye-worm. You can’t unsee it.

Because now you have a new memory of reading this post.

Did you know that a 1957 study showed that humans lost the ability to form new memories when the hippocampus was removed from the brain?

The hippocampus is the seahorse-shaped part that sits above the ear. We’ve actually got 2 hippocampi.*

I’ve been checking that the training I provide in workshops and coaching sessions engages the hippocampus to optimise learning ‘stickiness’.

The NeuroLeadership Institute’s AGES model makes a nifty neuroscience checklist:

✅ Attention – introducing the unexpected and sensory stimulation
✅ Generation – active, creative, participative experiences
✅ Emotion – connecting feeling to learning
✅ Spacing – a steady rate of info transfer with regular breaks

I’ve also checked if my brain-friendly training and coaching engage the 3 biological stages that are key to learning success:

✅ Readiness – evoking curiosity and anticipation to trigger dopamine
✅ Construction – semantic shaping (metaphors and stories), chunking, multisensory instruction and filter-switching (through the lens of…) to spark new neural connections
✅ Consolidation – practice and reflection to smooth and strengthen retrieval

Phew! All ticks, but I know I have to work more on spacing, especially when there’s so much I want to share.

When you’re ready for ‘sticky’, brain-friendly communication training for your team, let’s make new memories together.

If your team is struggling to meet expectations, manage information overload, and express themselves effectively, let’s talk about bringing the True Colors program to your workplace so we can identify who likes to communicate how.

* when I hear the word ‘hippocampi’ I think of hippos in kimonos toasting with cups of sake – kanpi!

Tap the button to book a complimentary and unconditional Tell Me More Call.

Book a Tell Me More Call 

Tap back to Communisence for more practical tips