Engagement Board for Effective Communication

From Formal Rules to Conscious Behavior: Evolution of Safety Culture

The implementation of safety culture tools often faces a paradox: employees know the rules and answer correctly during knowledge tests, but accidents continue to happen. This is because, when performing routine operations or in non-standard situations, people act on an unconscious level. Tatiana Lokshina, Safe Behavior Culture Manager at Gotek, analyzes how to overcome this barrier and build effective communication that genuinely influences employee behavior.

The presentation details an approach where the choice of safety tools directly depends on the level of corporate culture. The experience of integrating various production sites has shown that what works perfectly at one plant might fail at another if the prevailing employee type (e.g., "smart executor" or "team player") is not taken into account.

"Engagement Board": 15 Minutes That Change Risk Perception

Using the implementation of the "Engagement Board" tool as an example, the speaker shows how incident analysis can be transformed from a formal procedure into a lively dialogue. This is not a replacement for an official investigation, but a way to convey its results to every worker.

• "On your feet" format right on the shop floor — short 15-minute meetings in front of a magnetic whiteboard or flipchart, conducted by a line manager (foreman or shift supervisor) for a group of 5 – 7 people. This removes the barrier of formality and makes the discussion part of the work process.
• Analysis through three factors — incidents (or micro-injuries, unsafe acts) are analyzed from the perspective of the workspace, personal, and group factors. This helps employees recognize similar risks at their own workplaces.
• Collective decision — the meeting ends with a vote where the team itself determines the most important corrective action they will start applying immediately. This builds personal responsibility for the result.

Such an honest dialogue allows influencing unconscious behavior, as employees share their life experiences and come to understand the need for safe actions on their own.

Implementation Results and the Role of Line Managers

Practice has shown that the regular use of the "Engagement Board" yields measurable results. Employee satisfaction with working conditions (based on pulse surveys) increased by 17%. The nature of injuries also changed: the number of serious incidents related to rotating equipment decreased.

The key success factor is the position of the line manager. Acting as a moderator for such meetings, they show leadership and become a role model, demonstrating genuine care for subordinates rather than just demanding compliance with instructions.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How does the level of corporate culture affect the adoption of safety tools?
• Why do employees break rules even if they know the instructions perfectly?
• How to organize incident analysis on the shop floor so that it influences workers' unconscious behavior?
• What is the role of the line manager in implementing the "Engagement Board"?
• How to evaluate the effectiveness of HSE communication through pulse surveys?